Santa Barbara Killings: What We Know Now

ByGILLIAN MOHNEY ABCNews logo
Saturday, May 31, 2014

New Information on the Investigation into the Deadly Santa Barbara Rampage

  • The Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office continues its internal investigation into how deputies dealt with Elliot Rodger before and after the college student went on a murderous spree last week, killing six people and injuring more than a dozen others.
  • Officials from the Sheriff's Office confirmed that deputies did not view videos posted by Rodger, 22, a few weeks before the incident. Deputies visited Rodger at the end of April after his therapist contacted police about the videos the young man had posted to YouTube. Deputies found Rodger "timid and polite." They also didn't run run a weapons check on him.
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        Victim, Friend Describe Elliot Rodger
        • Bianca de Kock says she remembers Rodger's "smirky, grimacy smile" before he started shooting. De Kock was walking home with two sorority sisters when Rodgers began to shoot at them. The University of Santa Barbara student was shot five times and both of de Kock's sorority sisters, Veronika Weiss and Katherine Breann Cooper, were killed in the shooting.
        • "He wanted to do this," she said in an exclusive interview with ABC News. "He looked happy about it."
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          • Rodger's former roommate, Chris Rugg, said that he saw warning signs of violent behavior and frustration from Rodger. He also heard "clicking" sounds, likely from a gun, in Rodger's room.
          • "There was a lot of just frustration for how he was not having a good time at school and how no one seemed to want to hang out with him, and it just got more and more serious," Rugg told ABC News.
            • Elliot Rodger's Parents Speak Out After the Shooting
              • Rodger's parents, Peter Rodger and Chin Rodger said they are heartbroken over their son's actions. "We are crying in pain for the victims and their families," the statement reads. "It breaks our heart on a level we didn't think possible. The feeling of knowing that it was our son's actions that caused the tragedy can only be described as Hell on earth."
              • According to close family friend Simon Astaire, Rodger's parents are so devastated they can barely speak. "Literally, their speech is now stuttered," Astaire said. "They're unable to really articulate things in a full sentence."
              • Peter Rodger was the assistant director for one of the "Hunger Games" films. Elliot Rodger grew up around red carpets and Hollywood glamor, but was socially awkward and isolated, his family said. He was treated by multiple therapists and was a student at Santa Barbara City College.
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