Misogynistic terror attacks in California
Two misogynistic terror attacks occurred in Isla Vista, California, United States on the evening of May 23, 2014. 22-year-old Elliot Rodger killed six people and injured fourteen others by gunshot, stabbing and vehicle-ramming near the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) before fatally shooting himself.
In Rodger's apartment, he ambushed and stabbed to death his two roommates and their friend, killing them separately as they arrived. About two hours later, he drove to a sorority house and, after failing to gain entry, he shot three women walking near the sorority house, two of whom died. He then drove past a nearby delicatessen, and shot and killed a man who was inside. Following this, he drove around Isla Vista, shooting and wounding several pedestrians from his car, and striking others with his car. He twice exchanged gunfire with police and was injured in the hip. After Rodger's car crashed into a parked vehicle, he was found dead inside with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Before driving to the sorority house, Rodger uploaded a video titled "Elliot Rodger's Retribution", in which he outlined his planned attack and his motives, to the video-sharing platform YouTube. In the video, Rodger said he wanted to punish women for rejecting him, and sexually active men because he envied them. He also emailed a lengthy, autobiographical manuscript to friends, family members and his therapist; the document appeared on the Internet and became widely known as his manifesto. In the document, Rodger described his childhood, family conflicts, frustration over his inability to find a girlfriend, his hatred of women, his contempt for couples, and his plans for "retribution".
Background.
Elliot Oliver Robertson Rodger was born on July 24, 1991, in London, England. Rodger faced mental health problems as a child; he struggled in social situations, often cried in crowds, and displayed repetitive behaviors. He repeatedly talked about killing himself but had no history of violence. In 2007, he was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. As an adult, he showed anger toward couples and had difficulties socializing.
Rodger wrote a 137-page manifesto titled "My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger" about his life and frustrations at having never had sexual intercourse, a situation for which he blamed women. In his manifesto, Rodger wrote about his plan to carry out an attack, calling it a "Day of Retribution". Initially, Rodger was unsure whether to target Santa Barbara City College or Isla Vista for his attacks, but ultimately chose Isla Vista. He had planned to drive to his father's home where he intended to kill his stepmother Soumaya Akaaboune and half-brother. He intended to steal their car and drive it back to Isla Vista, targeting the Alpha Phi sorority house with plans to kill its occupants before setting it on fire. Rodger then planned to shoot and run over as many people with the car as possible in Isla Vista.
Rodger posted videos to YouTube describing his views on life and frustrations at his romantic failures. In April 2014, he uploaded to YouTube videos expressing his deep loneliness and frustration at his unsuccessful attempts to attracting a girlfriend. He also posted on misogynistic and anti-feminism online forums like PUAHate. Denizens of these forums, including Rodger, identified themselves as "involuntary celibates" or "incels"; they discussed their difficulties with finding a romantic or sexual partner, and expressed disdain towards women and pick-up artists.
In February 2012, after being unable to find a girlfriend, Rodger wrote his manifesto that his attack had become a possibility. He became fixated on winning a lottery, believing gaining wealth was the only way for him to attain a sexual experience. By June 2012, Rodger wrote he would not carry out his attacks if he won the Mega Millions jackpot. When he did not win the jackpot in September 2012, he visited a gun range in Oxnard, California. In November 2012, he bought Powerball lottery tickets, but after failing to win, he began to actively plan his attack. He purchased firearms between December 2012 and 2014. From February through April 2014, Rodger visited gun ranges and purchased ammunition. In August 2013, Rodger, having rejected Halloween 2013 as the attack date due to concerns over the police presence, decided to delay his attack until early 2014, eventually selecting April 26, 2014, as the new date for his attack. On April 24, due to illness, he postponed his attack to May 24, 2014.
Attacks.
Apartment stabbings.
Despite initially selecting May 24 as the date for his attacks, Rodger unexpectedly initiated his attacks a day earlier. Rodger, carrying a "SRK" knife and a hunting knife, ambushed his 20-year-old roommate Weihan "David" Wang upon his return to their apartment. Wang tried to defend himself but was stabbed 15 times, suffering 23 slashes. Rodger moved Wang's body to the corner of a bedroom, threw it face-down on the floor, and partially covering it with blankets, towels, and clothing. Soon after, Rodger attacked his other roommate, 20-year-old Cheng Yuan "James" Hong, after he entered the apartment. Despite his attempts to defend himself, Hong was overwhelmed, receiving 25 stab wounds and 12 slashes. Five of the stab wounds were inflicted on Hong's back after he died. Rodger dragged Hong's body to the same bedroom, throwing it face down and half-on-top of Wang's body, and concealed it with blankets and clothing.
19-year-old George Chen, a friend of Hong and Wang, arrived at the apartment to visit them. Upon entering, Rodger ambushed Chen, inflicting 94 stab wounds and 11 slashes as Chen attempted to defend himself. Rodger left Chen's bleeding body in a bathroom. He attempted to clean the apartment and hide evidence of the earlier stabbings as each victim entered using bathroom towels and paper towels, which quickly became soaked in blood. Despite his efforts, blood remained splattered on the hallways and walls.
After failing to clean up the blood, Rodger changed out of his blood-drenched clothes and entangled them with his bed sheets. He showered, put on new clothes, and went to a Starbucks coffee house around 7:38 p.m. He purchased a triple-vanilla latte while texting his mother saying he was done with school and would call her later. He returned to his apartment and wrote in his journal:
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Rodger emailed his 137-page manifesto to 34 people, including his parents, therapists, former teachers, and childhood friends, with the message: "Attached is Elliot Rodger's life story, which explains how I came to be the way I am".
Minutes before his planned attack on the Alpha Phi sorority house, Rodger uploaded a seven-minute video called "Elliot Rodger's Retribution" to the video-sharing platform YouTube. Rodger recorded two takes of his "Retribution" video in his car, the first attempt at which was interrupted by a passing jogger. In the second take he uploaded, Rodger is seen sitting in his car at sunset reciting scripted lines and emitting fake laughter. In the video, Rodger said he was frustrated at remaining a virgin at 22, that he would "punish" women for rejecting him despite being an "alpha male" and a "Supreme Gentleman", and expressed his hatred for sexually active men.
Shootings and vehicle attacks.
At around 9:15 p.m., Rodger arrived at the Alpha Phi sorority house with three semi-automatic pistols, additional ammunition strapped to his waist, and a full gas can. The sorority house had a heavy, wooden, double door with an electronic keypad. Rodger tried to open the house's door, pulling on the handle then typing on the keypad numerous times. He then aggressively knocked on the door for over three minutes. Approximately 40 residents of the sorority house were visiting Las Vegas while those remaining felt too tired to answer the door. Rodger became frustrated at the unanswered door and set down the gas can. Rodger returned to his car and, around 9:27 p.m., noticed three women walking near the sorority house; these were 19-year-old Veronika Weiss, 22-year-old Katherine "Katie" Cooper, and a 20-year-old woman, all of whom were members of the sorority Delta Delta Delta. As the women were walking back to their Delta Delta Delta sorority house, Rodger slowly approached them in his car and fired multiple shots at them through an open window. As Rodger sped away, the 20-year-old woman managed to call her mother, repeatedly crying she was going to die.
People heard screaming and saw the three women bleeding on the grass, and rushed to a sheriff's deputy for help. The deputy quickly arrived and applied pressure to the 20-year-old woman's wounds. One person began administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to Cooper, and another tried to comfort Weiss by holding her head and speaking to her. More bystanders arrived, and the deputy told them to check if the women had a pulse and to start chest compressions. Additional sheriff's deputies arrived and started helping, while another bystander used a sweatshirt to apply pressure to one of Cooper's gunshot wounds. Despite their efforts, Cooper and Weiss died from their injuries. Weiss was shot seven times, with six bullets striking between her legs, buttocks, and groin. The fatal shot pierced her heart and both lungs. Cooper was shot eight times and suffered multiple fatal injuries, including gunshots to her lungs and the side of her head. A bystander then took over the aid of the 20-year-old woman while deputies chased down Rodger. Bystanders told the 20-year-old woman's mother on her phone her daughter would survive.
After driving away from the sorority house, Rodger executed a three-point turn in a driveway along Pardall Road and discharged a shot toward a closed coffee shop. He drove to a store called IV Deli Mart, where he fired a barrage at nearby individuals. 20-year-old Christopher "Chris" Michaels-Martinez, who was at the deli's entrance, was shot once in the chest when he turned around to look at Rodger's car, resulting in injuries to his liver and the right ventricle of his heart. Michaels-Martinez entered the store but fell to the ground. People inside took cover as Rodger continued to fire shots into the store, shattering windows. Rodger then drove away. Despite CPR attempts from five bystanders and sheriff's deputies, Michaels-Martinez died.
Rodger continued driving, struck a man with his vehicle, and knocked him into the air. While driving on Trigo Road, Rodger arrived at a pizza restaurant called Pizza My Heart and opened fire on a couple exiting it. The man was shot in the left arm and the woman was shot in her upper-right forearm. The man ran in the opposite direction while the woman ran back into the restaurant. Rodger fired shots into the restaurant before speeding away. Driving on the wrong side of the road in Embarcadero del Norte, Rodger shot a female cyclist in the right thigh. He then encountered a woman walking alone. Rodger called out: "Hey, what’s up?", making the woman acknowledge him as she continued walking. He raised a gun from his car window, leading the woman to initially believe it was an airsoft gun, then shot at her numerous times, narrowly missing her head, and prompting her to run away and scream for help.
Rodger then drove to Del Playa Drive, where he saw a sheriff's deputy and fired shots. As he sped away, the deputy returned fire, discharging a single round. Rodger then struck two men with his car, driving to Camino Del Sur where he shot a man in the right forearm and right buttocks. Rodger proceeded to Sabado Tarde Road, hitting a male cyclist and two male skateboarders. He encountered two men in a driveway and shot them several times. Near Little Acorn Park, Rodger saw four sheriff's deputies, engaged three of them in a shootout, and received a gunshot wound to his hip. At around 9:35 p.m., Rodger turned onto several streets, put the gun to his head, and pulled the trigger, causing his car to veer and hit a male cyclist, who tumbled on the vehicle and damaged the car's windshield. Rodger's car eventually crashed into a parked vehicle. As police officers surrounded Rodger's car, they mistakenly handcuffed the injured cyclist, initially suspecting him to be a second assailant. Realizing their error, they gave him medical attention, acknowledging him as a victim. Upon searching Rodger's vehicle, police discovered his body and found a gunshot wound to his head.
Vehicle search.
Inside Rodger's car, police found a Glock 34 Long Slide handgun with seven loaded, ten-round magazines; two