Killer's family tried to intervene before rampage

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-EXCITE

By MARTHA MENDOZA and MICHAEL R. BLOOD

GOLETA, Calif. (AP) — It was Friday night when Elliot Rodger's mother got a call from her son's therapist that he had emailed a ranting manifesto about going on a deadly rampage.

The mother went to her son's YouTube channel and found the video in which he threatens to kill people. She alerted authorities and set off frantically with her ex-husband to Santa Barbara.

By the time they arrived, it was too late: their son had killed six people and then, authorities say, himself.

"They're in deep, deep grief," family friend Simon Astaire said Sunday as he recounted the family's ordeal. "Their grief which is nearly unbearable to be close to is as much for the loss of their son as for the victims."

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140526/us-santa-barbara-rampage-17f3390c64.html

---

People gather at a park for a candlelight vigil to honor the victims of Friday night's mass shooting on Saturday, May 24, 2014, in Isla Vista, Calif. Sheriff's officials said Elliot Rodger, 22, went on a rampage near the University of California, Santa Barbara, stabbing three people to death at his apartment before shooting and killing three more in a crime spree through a nearby neighborhood. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

[shenmue]

1. Mercy

[yuiyoshida]

2. wow!

"Deputies found three semi-automatic handguns along with 400 unspent rounds in the car. All were purchased legally."

[mikeysnot]

3. Another law abiding citizen....

this shit makes me want to scream.

[yuiyoshida]

4. I am so glad he never got to use this stuff

It could have been as bad in Isla Vista as it had been back east when that other killer, went to that school full of kids.

[crim son]

18. I read here just yesterday

that they were purchased illegally, so talk about more or better regulation was a waste of time.

[JDPriestly]

21. They were purchased LEGALLY.

t's unclear what Rodger might have done had he not wrecked his car. Inside the wrecked BMW, Brown said, police found three handguns -- all legally purchased -- and more than 400 rounds of unused ammunition. Brown said the guns were purchased the firearms over the past year in three different cities.

Martinez's father, Richard, said some politicians and the National Rifle Association are also to blame for his son's death.

"Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA," he said. "They talk about gun rights -- what about Chris' right to live? When will this insanity stop?"

http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/25/justice/california-shooting-deaths/

[freshwest]

20. 400 rounds is a bit much for someone planning peaceful activities. But it's common place. No wonder

Last edited Mon May 26, 2014, 02:53 PM - Edit history (1)

some places can rapidly become a war zone. This state of affairs is what the Koch brothers, Birchers and NRA intend by fighting sensible legislation. It's not just about profits, there's more to it.

2nd Amendment absolutists and their running buddies the Second Amendment Solution crowd will drape it in all kinds of causes, but are now emboldened to give their real motive. They want the government overthrown.

The NRA, et al, have long had such a radical agenda that even Bush, Sr. objected to it. Some forget what is legal now, was not legal twenty years ago. Now it's batshit crazy and we're all going to pay the price. Here's what Bush said:

Letter of Resignation Sent By Bush to Rifle Association

Published: May 11, 1995

Following is the letter of resignation sent last week by former President George Bush to the National Rifle Association:

May 3, 1995

Dear Mr. Washington,

I was outraged when, even in the wake of the Oklahoma City tragedy, Mr. Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of N.R.A., defended his attack on federal agents as "jack-booted thugs." To attack Secret Service agents or A.T.F. people or any government law enforcement people as "wearing Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms" wanting to "attack law abiding citizens" is a vicious slander on good people.

Al Whicher, who served on my [ United States Secret Service ] detail when I was Vice President and President, was killed in Oklahoma City. He was no Nazi. He was a kind man, a loving parent, a man dedicated to serving his country -- and serve it well he did.

In 1993, I attended the wake for A.T.F. agent Steve Willis, another dedicated officer who did his duty. I can assure you that this honorable man, killed by weird cultists, was no Nazi.

John Magaw, who used to head the U.S.S.S. and now heads A.T.F., is one of the most principled, decent men I have ever known. He would be the last to condone the kind of illegal behavior your ugly letter charges. The same is true for the F.B.I.'s able Director Louis Freeh. I appointed Mr. Freeh to the Federal Bench. His integrity and honor are beyond question.

Both John Magaw and Judge Freeh were in office when I was President. They both now serve in the current administration. They both have badges. Neither of them would ever give the government's "go ahead to harass, intimidate, even murder law abiding citizens." (Your words)

I am a gun owner and an avid hunter. Over the years I have agreed with most of N.R.A.'s objectives, particularly your educational and training efforts, and your fundamental stance in favor of owning guns.

However, your broadside against Federal agents deeply offends my own sense of decency and honor; and it offends my concept of service to country. It indirectly slanders a wide array of government law enforcement officials, who are out there, day and night, laying their lives on the line for all of us.

You have not repudiated Mr. LaPierre's unwarranted attack. Therefore, I resign as a Life Member of N.R.A., said resignation to be effective upon your receipt of this letter. Please remove my name from your membership list.

Sincerely, [ signed ] George Bush

http://www.nytimes.com/1995/05/11/us/letter-of-resignation-sent-by-bush-to-rifle-association.html

I have no love for any Bush, but he saw the writing on the wall. Their talking points are now mainstream, not because they are right, but because they own the media and have brainwashed millions.

When the NRA's power in this country was called out by the father of a victim over this latest event, the GOP made crude remarks to defame any opposition. The NRA, ALEC and the Koch brothers are too powerful and their agenda does not bode well for Americans.... It's sick.

[Justice]

5. "Alerted authorities"

The first "alert" sounds very watered down - mother to therapist to mental health agency to police - the fact that no one told the police about the videos (the videos prompted the mother to call) is sickening. Who decided to leave out that detail?

The second alert that is mentioned = "She alerted authorities and set off frantically with her ex-husband to Santa Barbara." There is no more detail about this - who did the mother call?

[former9thward]

7. It is great to have your 20/20 hindsight.

Too bad you were not one of the people alerted. I'm sure you would have shown them all how to do it. The fact is that the parents, mental health people and police all did their jobs properly and did the best they could. Not all tragedies can be prevented despite the catcalls from the naysayers on the sidelines.

[ColesCountyDem]

16. +1 n/t

[passiveporcupine]

34. You don't know that

Most of the therapy he was getting was more like hired life coaches who took him out to public places to teach him how to act around people and learn how to talk to girls. The psychiatrist he saw prescribed medication he refused to take and then he wouldn't go back to that psychiatrist. Any time he didn't get his way, or felt slighted in some way, he had a history of tantrums and crying jags even into his 20's.

When his parents were worried enough about his strange videos to call in a real therapist and have it reported to police, that should have been handled in a more thorough manner. When the cops were sent to interview him, they should also have searched his home for signs of trouble (like weapons, or a diary or manifest). Instead they talked to him outside his apartment and "took his word for it" that it was all just a misunderstanding. Sociopaths and other mentally ill people can be very smart and charming.

I'm sorry, but the way they handled this was not good enough. He should have been taken in for observation and his apartment should have been searched. If they'd found the guns and ammo, and his diary, I don't think this would have happened.

Just what the fuck do we have to do to get the right people involved to read the red flags and take them seriously?

[lululu]

28. who did the mother call

911, according to the nytimes. The therapist called the mother, the mother read the email and looked at the video, the mother called the father and they both took off to find the son.

[father founding]

6. Mental Shrillness

This has nothing to do about mental illness, it's all about guns, plain and simple like the leadership of the NRA.

[mountain grammy]

8. I agree! It's all about guns and access to weapons

which is ridiculously easy for anyone. The 1% is funding the madness of NRA policy through ALEC because we're not killing each other fast enough.

[PassingFair]

9. The guy DID stab three people to death before using the guns.

This massacre has EVERYTHING to do with mental illness.
If he couldn't have gotten guns he would have used a bomb or something.


He had been planning his "Day of Retribution" for over a year.
And his homicidal fantasies had been with him since puberty.

[Tikki]

10. He did as he planned…he did not plan to shoot the roommates...

If he had planned to shoot them, he would have shot them.

He did plan to shoot with guns as many as he could at a sorority and
he did plan to shoot more in IV.

Tikki

[OneCrazyDiamond]

13. I think he was responding to

"it's all about guns", which kinda ignores the knife. Our country has had guns since the beginning....something else has changed.

[Tikki]

15. I do too. Adding the knives, sharp objects, used to kill the roommates was just a part of how

he planned this out and guns were what he used to kill and injure young people out in IV.

I would be interested to find out if he had any training with guns. I wonder if anyone
knew he had those guns.

Tikki

[PassingFair]

19. According to his "Manifesto", bought them, one at a time, with money given to him...

from his relatives.

They assumed he was spending the money on Hugo Boss shirts and what-not.

[JDPriestly]

22. Yes.

Think about this young man's life. He was an excellent student, but short. He had not yet begun to accept himself or learned that there was a place for him, maybe a good one, in this life. He wanted everything right now -- as many young people do.

He was actually a good-looking young man but was so self-centered that he could not show enough interest in the girls he wanted to impress to interest them.

And that reflects a serious problem in our society. We emphasize winning and succeeding. But we don't teach our children that we are all part of one world, that we have to be kind and that we have to help each other make it through life. We don't teach them early on to expect life to be difficult. We inundate our children with stories of super-heroes for whom everything is easy. But the reality is that life is tough. He does not seem to have understood that what he experienced was normal. He imagined that other young people's lives were easier than his. I have known lots of short guys who attracted beautiful, wonderful women. My own father was short, and he was so loved. It's ridiculous for men to think that being super-heroes or being tall and handsome matter all that much to women.

Rodgers was the child of a divorced couple. I don't think people realize how much divorce can hurt their children.

[exboyfil]

26. He was a 22 year old at a community college

that kept dropping his courses. UCSB is part of one of the best university systems in the nation. I am not entirely sure how smart he really was. I got to think that aspiring to date sorority women at UCSB would be considered a huge step up for a community college student.

He would have probably been better off pursuing the science fiction fandom angle with young women interested in The Hunger Games. Of course they are a smart discerning bunch that could probably see his shallowness and, more importantly, his crazinous quickly.

I just pray my daughters never get into the crosshairs of a lunatic such as this.

I am 5' 5", got turned down for dates (not sorority types but girls/women I was interested in because of their intellect), and a virgin on my wedding night when I was 23. I have been happily married for over 25 years with two wonderful daughters who I love with all the world. Being short is no excuse for anything.

[JDPriestly]

30. Oh, yes. Being short is an excuse for needing a stepladder to reach the top shelf in your

kitchen, barely being able to see out of the back window of your car and other such indignities. But not for killing people.

I'm short too. Most kitchens are not made for me. Same for closets.

[lululu]

29. he hated women

He was beaten up by some guys in a bar after he tried to push some girls off a ledge. And he wonders why women weren't thrilled to be asked out by a loon?

[LisaL]

31. I don't think he ever asked them out.

He just expected them to pay attention to him without having to ask them out.

[840high]

14. ...^ that

[Psephos]

35. Perfectly said. :)

But it's hard for reason and observation to prevail against the seductions of emotion.

[Algernon Moncrieff]

11. Like Seung-Hui Cho and Adam Lanza, Elliot Rodger was mentally ill with access to weaponry

Rodger killed with a knife as well as firearms, so the argument that this is just about guns is simply wrong.

The reality is that in all three cases, the murderers were far more ill than their caregivers realized or (more likely) would admit to themselves.

[KurtNYC]

12. He was acting out the movie "Chronicle"

Thinking your life is a movie fits the definition of mental illness very well:

Andrew is a high school student who chronicles his life on HD film. For him, filming is an outlet for his introversion and instability. Oppressed and bullied both at school by thugs and at home by a drunken, ignorant father, his concerns are more for his mother, who is dying of an incurable illness. Following a bullying at school, he meets new friends; Matt and Steve who bring him out of himself when they discover an alien source that imparts super powers upon them. But the powers more than test the integrity of their characters as they begin to disagree with each other and become more and more irresponsible in their activities. For Andrew however, the draw is to a much more darker side. One that will lead to a more harrowing and decisive destiny.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1706593/plotsummary

See also: John Hinckley and Aurora Colorado

[dixiegrrrrl]

23. What is also weird is

that lengthy "manifesto"/bio he wrote is like a screenplay.
I suspect that due his being involved with film-making ( his dad a producer, his Mom an actress of sorts) that he figured someone would be likely to make a movie about him in the future.
sadly, movies about real life killers do get made.

[defacto7]

36. Bingo... n/t

[dem in texas]

17. Too Little, Too Late

Where did he get the money to buy 3 semi-automatic handguns and 400 rounds of ammo? From Mama and Daddy I'm sure. Did they pay attention to what he was up to? What about his doctor? Wasn't anybody willing to step up to the plate and take charge of this disturbed young man?

This is the same thing that has gone wrong for so many times. The Columbine killings, the Virginia Tech shootings, the Colorado shootings, Sandy Hook. Too much money and too many inattentive parents and too many law enforcement who are not trained to handle these types of people. Not to mention the fact that this guy could actually go in and buy these guns and all this ammo with his background. Shame on the US Lawmakers and the NRA, shame on the parents and shame on the press.

Make the killing Stop!

[dixiegrrrrl]

24. He explained that, and more, in his manifesto.

There are/were links to it all over the web yesterday.
Here is one link:http://www.scribd.com/doc/225936731/Untitled

If you take the time to read it, most of the questiions that have been littering DU would have been answered.

[EmilyAnne]

32. Why on earth would you think that everyone has time to read such a thing?

Just answer the question if you've read it.
Jeez.
What's so wrong with just being nice?

Questions about a mass murderer have been "littering" DU?
Heavens!!!!

[bossy22]

27. his background was spotless on paper

That was the problem. A background check is only as good as the information that is on paper. He was mentally ill, but according to his background check record he was perfectly fine

[seveneyes]

25. His first threatening words should have been acted on long before his rampage

His guns secured and him placed in mental care. Anyone threatening innocents should be taken seriously and possibly locked up.

[Sunlei]

33. way to late, read his 150 page 'book'..even without the guns he was going to kill people.

He said even his own little brother and stepmother. He would have used one of the cars, he even practiced with his 'wooden sword'. Way back when he was crying daily, raging, crying and raging.. he should have been in a hospital not constantly sent off to college life.

[defacto7]

37. That's a serious point.

It wreaks of being ignored and pushed aside by... something. Was no one watching? Did no one really give a damn?