Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Alarming Email Prompted Elliot Rodger's Parents To Rush To Isla Vista During Massacre
The mother of Elliot Rodger, the young man who killed six U.C. Santa Barbara students before taking his own life, opened an email—including the rambling manifesto —from her son on Friday evening, prompting her and her ex-husband to hurry to the scene of the tragedy.
TheLA Times spoke to a family friend who said Chin Rodger's therapist told her to check her email just after 9 p.m, "Have you gotten Elliot’s email? I think you should see it." After seeing the email, Rodger then "immediately checked Elliot’s YouTube channel, where he had posted bizarre videos about how alienated he felt, particularly from women" (transcript of the "Retribution" video) and called her ex-husband to alert him. The friend, Simon Astaire, told the Times that both Chin Rodger and Peter Rodger rushed to Isla Vista, with Chin Rodger "call[ing] either 911 or the sheriff directly, and arranged to meet with authorities when they arrived."
As they drove up the 101 Freeway, they heard news of a shooting in Isla Vista on the radio. Elliot is accused of killing six people before taking his own life. Chin called Elliot’s therapist, who told her it was unrelated. He said Elliot promised retribution the following day, and his nature was to stick to such details. By the time Chin and her ex-husband reached the police station, officers confirmed it was their son, and that he and six others were dead by his hand. Astaire said he didn’t have the words to describe their emotions.
Support for LAist comes from
Sheriff Bill Brown said yesterday, "Obviously, looking back on this, it's a very tragic situation, and we certainly wish that we could turn the clock back and maybe change some things. It's very apparent that he was able to convince many people for many years that he didn't have this deep, underlying obvious mental illness that also manifested itself in this terrible tragedy."
As for the 22-year-old's ability to buy three guns and hundreds of rounds of ammo, Brown said, "During the course of his interaction with mental health professionals, he apparently had never been either institutionalized or committed for an involuntarily hold of any kind. And those are the two triggers that actually would have made him a prohibited person in terms of a fire arms purchase. So he was able, sadly, to obtain those three firearms."
Yesterday, authorities identified three victims who were found in Rodger's apartment. They were Cheng Yuan Hong, 20, George Chen, 19, and Weihan Wang, 20. Hong and Chen were Rodger's roommates; it's unclear if Wang was also a roommate or if he was just visited. The three men were stabbed multiple times. Earlier in the year, Rodger had accused Hong of stealing $22 of candles from him;deputies arrested Hong. Rodger described his roommates as being "utterly repulsive" in his manifesto, "I would have to kill my roommates to get them out of the way. If they were pleasant to live with, I would regret having to kill them, but due to their behavior I now have no regrets about such a prospect."
The other three victims were Katherine Cooper, 22, and Veronika Weiss, 19, two Delta Delta Delta members who were killed outside the Alpha Phi sorority house and Christopher Michael-Martinez, 20, was killed at the IV Deli Mart. Michael-Martinez's father Richard Martinez said,"Our family has a message for every parent out there: You don't think it will happen to your child until it does... Why did Chris die? Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the (National Rifle Association). They talk about gun rights -- what about Chris' right to live? When will this insanity stop? When will enough people say stop this madness, we don't have to live like this? Too many have died. We should say to ourselves -- not one more."
However, a gun rights attorney said to the LA Times, "California's got pretty much every gun control law the gun control lobby wants, and it didn't stop this."
Related:
The Victims Of The Horrific Isla Vista Mass Killings
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist