Support for LAist comes from
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Stay Connected
Audience-funded nonprofit news
Listen

Share This

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.

News

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

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.

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.

Support for LAist comes from

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.

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

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
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
(
LAist
)

Trending on LAist