Cops: Killer began spree in apartment
He stabbed three there, then hit sorority, deli, authorities say.
By Amanda Covarrubias, Kate Mather, Adolfo Flores and Matt Stevens
ISLA VISTA, Calif. — A Friday night rampage near University of California at Santa Barbara that left seven people dead began with stabbings at the suspect’s apartment, then moved to a sorority house and a deli, sheriff’s officials said Saturday.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bob Brown confirmed that the suspect was Elliot Rodger, a Santa Barbara City College student and son of a film director. Brown accused Rodger, 22, of killing six people before taking his own life.
The narrative of the violence described by authorities eerily echoes a 140page statement Rodger wrote in which he described plans to kill people.
Brown said deputies had three earlier dealings with Rodger, including a welfare check last month after family members called authorities expressing concern about his health. The deputies said Rodger seemed to be fine and did not take any action against him.
The mass murder joins a long list of recent incidents including in Newtown, Conn.; Aurora, Colo.; and Columbia, Md., in which a young man, apparently mentally disturbed, has tried to shoot as many people as possible to avenge some perceived slight or societal injustice.
Authorities said Rodger allegedly began his crime spree by fatally stabbing three people at his apartment complex.
Rodger then allegedly went to a sorority house a few blocks away and opened fire on three women nearby, fatally wounding two of them.
Rodger’s next stop, said Brown, was a local deli, where he fatally shot a UC Santa Barbara student.
Driving his BMW, the suspect opened fire on pedestrians and others on the street, Brown said. He then got into a gunbattle with deputies.
Apparently wounded, he continued to drive. He was eventually captured by police, who found him dead of a gunshot wound to the head that appeared selfinflicted.
In addition to the seven deaths, 13 people were injured. Eight were hit by gunfire, four were struck by the vehicle, and one suffered a minor injury.
Authorities recovered three guns, all legally purchased and registered to him.
In Rodger’s document, he described his anger and alienation.
“On the day before the Day of Retribution, I will start the First Phase of my vengeance: Silently killing as many people as I can around Isla Vista by luring them into my apartment through some form of trickery,” he wrote.
“All of my suffering on this world has been at the hands of humanity, particularly women, it has made me realize just how brutal and twisted humanity is as a species,” he wrote. The statement, which was first reported by Channel 3 in Santa Barbara, appears to be similar to YouTube videos Rodger also made.
One of Rodger’s parents called a law enforcement agency last month, warning them about disturbing videos he was posting online, according to a source close to the family. In the last video posted Friday night and titled “Elliot Rodger’s retribution,” Rodger described his anger toward women and men.
“I’m 22 years old and still a virgin, never even kissed a girl,” he said.
“The popular kids, you never accepted me and now you will all pay for it.”
YouTube has since removed the video, posting in its place a notice saying the video violated its terms of service.
Authorities and witnesses said the shooting began about 9:30 p.m. in a student- dominated community of Isla Vista.
At the IV Deli Mart, Lyssa Hopper, a 19-year-old student, was buying some Gatorade and soda when she heard what she said were multiple gunshots.
Then, she said, she saw glass flying and dropped to the ground. When she looked up, she saw a man on the ground by the door in a pool of blood.
Hopper said she knew the victim, who she identified as Chris Martinez, a second-year student at UC Santa Barbara.
She said she tried to help administer CPR but was so flustered by the incident that she was unable to render aid until paramedics arrived.
She said that Martinez was among the deceased victims.
In a statement, the Rodger family expressed their compassion for the families of the victims.
“We are experiencing the most inconceivable pain and our hearts go out to everyone involved.”