Isla Vista shootings: UC Santa Barbara community awash in grief

Thousands of community members gathered in a somber candlelight vigil on the UC Santa Barbara campus late Saturday to remember those who lost their lives during Friday’s shooting rampage in Isla Vista.

Three of the six victims have been identified as 19-year-old Veronika Weiss, 22-year-old Katherine Breann Cooper and Christopher Michael-Martinez, 20, all students at the university. Three people who were fatally stabbed and 13 others who were injured have yet to be identified.

As the community continues to grieve, more details have emerged about the suspect’s alleged plan for a mass killing.

The 22-year-old suspect, Elliot Rodger, outlined his plans in a 137-page document, which he sent out Friday before the shootings, authorities said.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown described Rodger as “very mentally disturbed.”

Authorities said Rodger began by fatally stabbing three roommates at his apartment complex in the 6500 block of Seville Road in Isla Vista, then went to a sorority house a few blocks away and opened fire on three women outside, fatally wounding two of them.

Rodger’s next stop was a local deli, where he fatally shot a UC Santa Barbara student inside, Brown said.

The suspect then drove his BMW, opening fire on pedestrians and others on the street, Brown said. He then got into a gun battle with deputies. Apparently wounded, he continued to drive. He was eventually found dead from a gunshot wound to the head that appeared to be self-inflicted.

Authorities found three semi-automatic handguns that were all legally purchased and registered to Rodger.

In his rambling screed, Rodger described his anger and alienation.

“On the day before the Day of Retribution, I will start the First Phase of my vengeance: Silently killing as many people as I can around Isla Vista by luring them into my apartment through some form of trickery,” he wrote.

The document appears to be similar to YouTube videos Rodger made.

One of Rodger’s parents called the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department last month, warning about disturbing videos he was posting online, according to a source close to the family. It was unclear which videos the family had seen.

In his last video posted Friday night and titled “Elliot Rodger’s Retribution,” Rodger described his anger toward women and men.

“I’m 22 years old and still a virgin, never even kissed a girl. And through college, 2½ years, more than that actually, I’m still a virgin. It has been very torturous,” he said. “The popular kids, you never accepted me and now you will all pay for it. Girls, all I ever wanted was to love you, be loved by you. I wanted a girlfriend. I wanted sex, love, affection, adoration.”

“”You forced me to suffer all my life, now I will make you all suffer,” he said. “All you girls who rejected me, looked down upon me, you know, treated me like scum while you gave yourselves to other men. And all of you men for living a better life than me, all of you sexually active men. I hate you. I hate all of you. I can’t wait to give you exactly what you deserve, annihilation.”

Brown described the drive-by attacks as “the work of a mad man.”

Times staff writers Kate Mather, Monte Morin, Stephen Ceasar, Matt Stevens and Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report.