Isla Vista Massacre: UCSB student president, reporter on how community is coping

Flowers fill bullet holes in the windows of the IV Deli on May 25, 2014 in Isla Vista, California. According to reports, 22 year old Elliot Rodger, son of assistant director of the Hunger Games, Elliot Rodger, began his mass killing near the University of California in Santa Babara by stabbing three people to death in an apartment. He then went on to shooting people while driving his BMW and ran down at least one person until crashing with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Officers found three legally-purchased guns registered to him inside the vehicle. Prior to the murders, Rodger posted YouTube videos declaring his intention to annihilate the girls who rejected him sexually and others in retaliation for his remaining a virgin at age 22. Seven people died, including the Rodger, and seven others wounded, according to authorities.

For an update on how the students are doing three days after the incident, we turn to Ali Guthy, student body president at the school.

Today we're remembering the victims of Friday's nights shooting rampage near the University of California at Santa Barbara.

22-year-old Elliot Rodger opened fire on pedestrians in the Isla Vista community near the school. This, after he stabbed three men to death in his apartment. In the end, 7 people were killed, including the shooter who, Sheriffs say, likely died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 13 more people were injured.

Among the dead was 19-year-old Veronika Weiss.

KPCC's Sharon McNary spoke with her father, Bob Weiss, about his daughter. He described how he and his wife raced to the campus in the middle of the might to find out what happened to her.

"At about 12:30 my wife and drove up to Santa Barbara. We went to the hospital first and she wasn't there or at the other hospital and it occurred to my wife that maybe someone in Veronika's condition would not be at a hospital...so then they asked us to wait around the hospital and we did that for while and then we drove to the crimes scene where we found the officers but they couldn't tell us anything. We waited in the car until about sunrise. They escorted us to a church and a couple of pastors confirmed that Veronika was one of the shooting victims...we were waiting for the official word and then we just knew. We knew what we going to hear by then."

Bob Weiss remembered Veronika's confidence as a child, and her grit.

"She was a tough little kid, when she was 14 she played pony baseball here in Westlake Village and out of 1000 kids she was the only girl. We tired to talk her out of it butbut she insisted she could do it and did it well. That independence and courage you just don't see it very often. She was a wonderful citizen of the world. And we all lost something. You did. I did. The Rodgers family did. We all lost a lot."

For an update on how the students are doing three days after the incident, we turn to Ali Guthy, student body president at the school.

Then, Marissa Wenzke, editor of the school's paper the Daily Nexus, was at a friend's house near the scene of the shooting when she heard the gunfire. She quickly went to find out what happened and began reporting the story. She joins us to talk about her experience and what she saw.