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Elliot Rodger's Roommate Wanted To Move Away Before Killing Spree

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Elliot Rodger's killing spree in Isla Vista on Friday night began in his own apartment when he fatally stabbed his two roommates and one of their visiting friends. The parents of one of his roommates are speaking out to say that their son was eager to move out and away from Rodger.

Weihan "David" Wang complained to his parents Jinshuang "Jane" Liu and Charlie Wang that Rodger played his music too loud and was antisocial, according to NBC Bay Area. Liu said, "Normally, they don't talk to each other. They don't have much interaction."

He told his parents that he planned to move out of the apartment where he lived with Rodger and move in with some other friends for the next semester. Another friend told the Los Angeles Times that Wang had signed a lease on another apartment. Computer science major Wei Guo said Wang texted him that he would soon be living nearby, though Wang never offered up a reason for moving.

Wang was also a computer engineering major at UC Santa Barbara, who hoped to one day start his own business. Next month the Fremont native had plans to head up to Yellowstone National Park with his family for vacation and then celebrate his 21st birthday in July. Instead his grieving family was headed down to Santa Barbara.

Liu told NBC, "I'm a strong mom, I'm a nurse, I'm nice to my patients. I go to my church a few times a week. I ask God, 'Why doesn't he take me instead of my son?' I don't understand why this happened to me."

Friends told the Times that the trio of men slain on Friday night in Rodger's apartment—Wang, George Chen and Cheng Yuan Hong—bonded over video games, computers and their shared Chinese backgrounds. A fellow classmate said it would be hard to picture any of the men getting into a fight. Bonan Yan, another computer science major, told the Times, "They are polite. I don’t think they would fight with anyone."

It wasn't the first conflict that Rodger had with his roommates. At one point, he accused Hong of stealing $22 in candles, and he made a citizen's arrest. Hong pleaded guilty to the (very, very) petty theft.

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Chen's father Johnny Chen told KEYT that he initially assumed his son was okay since he had never heard anything about Rodger from him, and he knew his son didn't live with him. Chen's family told the station they planned to pick him up in a couple weeks, and they're having trouble dealing with the fact he's gone.

Related:
The Victims Of The Horrific Isla Vista Mass Killings
Woman Is 'Devastated' After Elliot Rodger Blamed Her For His Hatred Of Women
More coverage

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