2014 Isla Vista killings
The 2014 Isla Vista killings were two misogynistic terror attacks in Isla Vista, California. On the evening of Friday, May 23, 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.
This article is about the 2014 killing spree. For the 2001 vehicular assault, see 2001 Isla Vista killings.2014 Isla Vista killings
Isla Vista, California, U.S.
May 23, 2014
9:27 – 9:35 p.m. (UTC−8:00)
Students of the University of California, Santa Barbara, roommates
- Two knives
- Glock 34 handgun
- Two SIG Sauer P226 handguns
- BMW 328i Coupé
7 (3 by stabbing; 4 by gunfire, including the perpetrator)
14 (7 by gunfire, 7 struck by motor vehicle)
Misogynist terrorism, revenge for sexual and social rejection, incel ideology
Rodger stabbed his two roommates and their friend to death in his apartment, ambushing and killing them separately as they arrived. About two hours later, he drove to a sorority house and, after failing to get inside, shot three women outside, two of whom died. He next drove past a nearby deli and shot and killed a man who was inside. He then drove around Isla Vista, shooting and wounding several pedestrians from his car and striking others with his car. He exchanged gunfire with police twice and was injured in the hip. After his 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 to YouTube titled "Elliot Rodger's Retribution", in which he outlined his planned attack and his motives. He explained that 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, his therapist, and family members; the document appeared on the Internet and became widely known as his manifesto. In it, he 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 what he described as "retribution".
Manifesto
Rodger created a 137-page manifesto titled My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger about his life story and frustrations of having stayed a virgin his whole life.[82][83][84][85] Rodger blamed women and described them as a "plague", mentioning that he thought that them getting the right to choose their own partners could "hinder the advancement of humanity," asserting that "civilized men of intelligence" should decide who they could mate with. He stated they should not be given any rights, adding that their "wickedness" needed to be "contained" to avoid the risk of humanity from "falling into degeneracy." Rodger opined that women's refusal to accept him was a "declaration of war" and hoped for his attacks to reshape humanity. He believed that to "purify the world," it was necessary to get rid of love and sex from human existence altogether. He imagined himself as a leader with "fanatically loyal troops" who imprison women in concentration camps where most would die from starvation. A few women would be left alive where they would be kept in "secret labs" and be "artificially inseminated" with sperm samples to become pregnant, ensuring men would be unaware of women's existence.[86][87]
Rodger detailed his plans for his attack and divided it into three parts, calling it the "Day of Retribution".[88][89] The first phase involved killing his two roommates first, where he would then lure people into his apartment, wanting to slowly torture them before killing them.[90][91] In the second phase of his plan, which he dubbed the "War on Women," Rodger aimed to target "the very girls who represent everything I hate in the female gender," specifically focusing on the Alpha Phi sorority house, intending to kill as many blond women as possible before setting the sorority house on fire.[92][93][94] In his final phase, Rodger planned to drive to his father's house and kill his step-mother and half-brother.[95] He would then steal their Mercedes SUV and drive it to Isla Vista, shooting and hitting as many people as possible with his car.[96][97][98][99] Rodger's father was aware that he had been writing something, but Rodger refused to show him it. On a hike they took together before the attacks, Rodger's father expressed interest on what he was writing and asked if he could send it to him. Rodger brushed off the request, assuring him that he would share it in due time.[43]
Incidents with law enforcement
On July 20, 2013, Rodger, wanting to lose his virginity days before his 22nd birthday, drank vodka to become inebriated. He went to a party hoping to talk to girls. Unable to talk to girls, Rodger became angry and climbed onto a 10-foot ledge and pretended to shoot people at the party with his finger. He then tried to push several women off the ledge, but a group of men stopped him by pushing him off instead, causing him to break his ankle.[155] After the fall, Rodger went back toward the party to look for his sunglasses but was so drunk that he ended up getting into another altercation in front of a different house. The day after, two sheriff's deputies visited him in the hospital to ask about the fights. Rodger told them he had been pushed off the ledge after calling someone "ugly" and claimed that after the fight, he walked to a nearby front yard and sat down in a chair. He stated that he was attacked by about 10 men who kicked and punched him. Rodger was hurt on his arms, elbows, hands, face, and left ankle. He told police he did not know why he was attacked or called names.[155] He also said he did not call the police because he did not know who to call. A deputy noted that Rodger was too "timid" and "shy" to say what really happened. A witness said a man like Rodger began the fight by trying to push two women off a ledge. They didn't fall, but Rodger tried to push two more before he jumped off the ledge and ran. The witness noted Rodger was alone, acted oddly, and wasn't talking to anyone at the party.[156] After arriving at his apartment, a neighbor observed Rodger returning home in tears, swearing to kill those who attacked him and contemplated suicide. Rodger disclosed in his manifesto that this event was the decisive moment that propelled him to finalize his plans for the attack. The sheriff's office concluded Rodger had started the fight, and the investigation was closed without further action. They did not arrest Rodger or interrogate him further.[58][155][5]
On January 15, 2014, Rodger had a fight with Hong after accusing him of stealing three candles worth $22. Rodger placed Hong under a citizen's arrest. When police arrived Hong explained he thought Rodger stole his items, including a rice bowl. Rodger denied the claims. Refusing to return the candles, Hong was arrested and later faced a petty theft charge, for which he was fined and released. Following Hong's murder, the District Attorney, Joyce E. Dudley, filed a motion to dismiss the theft charge, which was subsequently granted.[156][157] On April 30, 2014, Rodger's mother, worried because she hadn't heard from her son in four days and alarmed by the videos he had posted online, reached out to his therapist.[158][159] The therapist then contacted a mental health professional, who requested a welfare check on Rodger. Responding to the request, four sheriff's deputies, a university police officer, and a dispatcher in training visited Rodger's apartment.[158][160] At the door, Rodger explained that the videos were his way of expressing his social difficulties in Isla Vista.[158] Rodger called his mother to update her about the situation and handed the phone to a deputy, who asked her if her son's videos concerned her. After she said they didn't, the deputy said her son was fine. Rodger told his mother he would call her later. Before they left, the deputies provided Rodger with information on local support services.[5][158][161] The officers concluded that Rodger did not pose an immediate risk to himself or others, making him ineligible for involuntary hold.[162] In his manifesto, Rodger mentioned that the visit from the deputies forced him to remove most of his videos from YouTube in case of being caught. However, in the week leading up to the attacks, he re-posted them.[160]
Lawsuits
In March 2015, Hong, Wang, and Chen's parents filed a civil rights lawsuit against Santa Barbara County, the Sheriff's department, Capri Apartments, and the property management company claiming negligence and breaches of the victims' constitutional right to due process.[202][203][204] They claimed that since Rodger moved into the Capri Apartments in 2011, he insulted and fought with a lot of his roommates and displayed odd behavior, but the apartment owners failed to conduct reasonable background checks before assigning Hong and Wang as his roommates and failed to warn them that Rodger had had serious conflicts with his previous roommates.[205] They also contended that the county and its Sheriff's Department violated their rights to due process by ignoring repeated "red flags" that Rodger was violent and unstable, even after a mental health worker saw YouTube videos that Rodger had posted and contacted authorities to say that Rodger appeared to be a danger to himself and others.[206]
U.S. District Judge John F. Walter removed Santa Barbara County and the Sheriff's department from the lawsuit on October 28, 2015, determining that the county had not infringed upon their constitutional rights under federal law and that the Sheriff's department did not act neglectfully, nor did their procedures or guidelines contribute to the harm they suffered. The judge concluded that the victim's parents failed to sufficiently demonstrate a violation of their due process rights, and although the judge dismissed the state-law claims within the lawsuit, he allowed for the claims to be re-submitted. The victim's parents proceeded to file their claims again on November 20, 2015, in state court.[207] Capri Apartments and the property management company sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, but their motion was denied in February 2017. By May 2017, a trial date was scheduled for September 15 of the same year.[208] The lawsuit was later settled nearly a week and a half before the trial was to start. Despite the property management company's denial of a settlement, an attorney for the victim's parents asserted a settlement was reached but said it was "confidential". The Santa Barbara Independent claimed that a settlement of $20 million was reached.[209]
In June 2015, the cyclist who was struck by Rodger's vehicle and subsequently handcuffed filed a civil lawsuit against Santa Barbara County, Rodger's parents, and the University of California, Santa Barbara, citing negligence, false imprisonment, and civil rights infringements for not giving him immediate medical attention after getting hit. The lawsuit contended that both campus police and the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department did not adequately investigate Rodger despite his release of several YouTube videos indicating his potential threat to others. Additionally, it was argued that Rodger's parents were negligent in allowing their mentally unstable son access to a BMW.[210][211][212]
Responses
Misogyny
The attack sparked discussion of broader issues of violence against women and misogyny.[213][214] According to the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism at the Hague, Rodger's attacks were an act of misogynist terrorism.[215] The US Secret Service described it as "misogynistic extremism".[216] Writer M.E. Williams objected to Rodger being labeled the "virgin killer", saying that implies that "one possible cause of male aggression is a lack of female sexual acquiescence".[217] Amanda Hess, writing for Slate, argued that although Rodger killed more men than women, his motivations were misogynistic because his reason for hating the men he attacked was that he thought they stole the women he felt entitled to.[196] Writing for Reason, Cathy Young countered with "that seems like a good example of stretching the concept into meaninglessness – or turning it into unfalsifiable quasi-religious dogma" and wrote that Rodger also wrote many hateful messages about other men.[218]
Film critic Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post attributed the attacks to Hollywood's "sexist movie monoculture," which she claimed was largely produced by white men.[219][220][221] She criticized American actor Seth Rogen and American director Judd Apatow, stating that Rogen's role in the 2014 movie Neighbors and Apatow's directing encouraged "outsized frat-boy fantasies", making people like Rodger feel "unjustly shut out of college life that should be full of 'sex and fun and pleasure'."[222][223][224]
Gun control and mental health
The attacks renewed calls for gun control and improvements in the American health care system.[225] Sheriff Bill Brown blamed Rodger's actions and the subsequent attacks on shortcomings in the mental health treatment system. He pointed out a widespread shortfall in resources for community mental health care and criticized the inadequate communication from healthcare professionals regarding individuals who exhibit suicidal or homicidal thoughts.[226] Several legislators in California demanded an evaluation of the interaction between the deputies and Rodger on April 30,[227] with the FBI launching an investigation on how the Sheriff's Office handled the situation.[228] The deputies did not consult the California gun ownership database, which already showed Rodger's purchase of at least two handguns.[227] They also did not examine the YouTube videos that led Rodger's parents to reach out to them.[229] Subsequently, the Sheriff's Office concluded that the responding deputies followed all rules and conducted themselves professionally, in alignment with both state law and departmental guidelines.[161] Despite California being one of the most strict states in the United States with gun laws, Rodger, who despite having undergone several years of psychiatric treatment, passed all necessary background checks. Because he had neither been institutionalized for mental health issues nor possessed a criminal history, he was able to purchase all three firearms.[230] In California, at the time, undergoing mental health treatment did not disqualify people for applying for firearms. Furthermore, even when Rodger's parents alerted the police to his threats on YouTube, the absence of an immediate threat meant the police lacked the authority to search his apartment, search the gun registry, or confiscate any firearms without a warrant based on probable cause.[231]
Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut advocated for the reinstatement of gun-control measures previously declined by Congress following the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, suggesting such legislation might have prevented the shooting spree.[232] Blumenthal emphasized the necessity to refocus gun-control initiatives around mental health issues, highlighting the urgent need for enhanced resources to support individuals with mental illnesses.[233][234] In his address, Michaels-Martinez's father attributed the attacks to the "craven, irresponsible" actions of politicians and the National Rifle Association (NRA), accusing the NRA of prioritizing gun rights above public safety.[235][236][237] Subsequently, Martinez said he wanted members of Congress to stop calling him to offer condolences for his son's death and appealed to the public to unite with him in "demanding immediate action" on gun control from Congress members.[238] Additionally, he extended his sympathies towards the parents of Rodger.[239] Timothy F. Murphy, a Pennsylvania Representative and clinical psychologist, presented his bipartisan mental health reform as a solution and called on Congress to enact it.[240][241] Santa Barbara Assemblymembers Das Williams and Nancy Skinner introduced legislation that would allow law enforcement, close relatives, or roommates to request a court order for the confiscation of firearms from individuals deemed a serious risk to themselves or others.[242][243] State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson also proposed a bill enforcing officers consult a state firearms registry during assessments of potential threats to personal or public safety.[244] Jackson's bill received unanimous Senate approval in August 2014.[245] While Williams and Skinner's bill successfully passed through both legislative chambers, it faced opposition from the National Rifle Association and other groups advocating for Second Amendment rights, who launched statewide robocall campaigns against it. Williams highlighted the external origin of the calls and maintained that the legislation received significant bipartisan support.[246] Governor Jerry Brown ultimately signed both bills into law in September 2014,[247][248] making California the first state to enact a Red flag law.[249][250]