Last night around 9:30 p.m., a shooter opened fire from his car and on foot in the town of Isla Vista, California, near the UC Santa Barbara campus. The Washington Post reports that dozens of shots were fired and six people were killed. Police pursued the gunman and found him dead in his car near the scene, but it's so far unclear whether he took his own life or was killed by police.
Even before a family attorney confirmed Elliot Rodger as the shooter, many sources — including The Washington Post and Deadline — pointed to the 22-year-old son of Peter Rodger, a second unit director on The Hunger Games films.
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At a press conference this morning, Santa Barbara County sheriff Bill Brown described “both written and videotaped evidence that suggests that this atrocity was a premeditated mass murder.” Brown mentioned a video posted on YouTube in which a young man details his plans to "slaughter every single spoiled, stuck-up blond slut I see." In the now widely circulated video, Rodger blames women and "sexually active men" for his virginity, saying that his life has been miserable since puberty because of sexual and romantic rejection.
Rodger's other videos include many melancholy reflections on his loneliness and a voyeuristic jealousy of couples. And, because this is YouTube and the commenters are terrible, there's already a dating coach claiming that they could have prevented this from happening with a few helpful tips.
If you or anyone you know is experiencing suicidal or violent thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.