Santa Barbara City College student Elliot Rodger went on a killing rampage murdering six people and injured 13 more Friday, May 23. Authorities say the 22-year-old son of a Hollywood director also killed himself.
Rodger’s divorced parents were alerted of their son’s plans by a 141-page manifesto, My Twisted World, which was emailed to both his therapist and his parents. According to The Guardian George Rodger, the assistant director of Hunger Games and his ex-wife attempted to intervene in the Isla Vista massacre, but were too late.
The British-born American college student also posted a video entitled Elliot Rodger’s Retribution on his YouTube channel detailing his plan.
"On the week leading up to date I set for the Day of Retribution, I uploaded several videos onto YouTube in order to express my views and feelings to the world, though I don't plan on uploading my ultimate video until minutes before the attack, because on that video I will talk about exactly why I’m doing this," Rodger wrote.
Rodger’s, who immersed himself in playing World of Warcraft, explained how he was seeking revenge against sorority women who rejected him and his more successful roommates.
“All of those beautiful girls I’ve desired so much in my life, but can never have because they despise and loathe me, I will destroy,” wrote Rodger. “All of those popular people who live hedonistic lives of pleasure, I will destroy, because they never accepted me as one of them. I will kill them all and make them suffer, just as they have made me suffer. It is only fair.”
James Hirsen, J.D., M.A. in Media Psychology, is a New York Times best-selling author, commentator, media analyst and law professor, says Rodger’s wrongly attempted to blame his violent thoughts on a troubled youth at a private prep-school in the United Kingdom.
“Elliot fits the profile of a self-absorbed youth with a pronounced victim mentality, and he left behind a voluminous amount of material online, which provides a rare window into the thinking processes of a mass murderer,” said Hirsen.
Publication date: May 27, 2014
