2014 Isla Vista killings

2014 Isla Vista killings
Isla Vista Isla Vista (southern California)
Location	Isla Vista, California United States
Coordinates	34°24′43″N 119°51′32″W / 34.412°N 119.859°W / 34.412; -119.859Coordinates: 34°24′43″N 119°51′32″W / 34.412°N 119.859°W / 34.412; -119.859
Date	May 23, 2014 (2014-05-23) ~9:27 p.m. (UTC−8:00)
Target	UCSB students
Attack type	Spree killing, murder–suicide, drive-by shooting, stabbing, vehicular assault
Weapons	Two knives Glock 34 handgun Two SIG Sauer P226 handguns BMW 328i Coupé
Deaths	7 (including the perpetrator)
Non-fatal injuries	14 (7 by gunfire, 7 struck by motor vehicle)
Victims	List of Victims in the 2014 Isla Vista Killings
Perpetrator	Elliot Rodger
Motive	Revenge for perceived sexual and social rejection

On May 23, 2014, in Isla Vista, California, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger killed six people and injured fourteen others near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara, before taking his own life.

The attack began when Rodger stabbed three men to death in his apartment. Afterwards, he drove to a sorority house and shot three female students outside, killing two. He drove to a nearby deli and shot to death a male student who was inside. He began to speed through Isla Vista, shooting and wounding several pedestrians and striking several others with his car. Rodger exchanged gunfire with police twice during the attack, receiving a non-fatal gunshot to the hip. The rampage ended when his car crashed into a parked vehicle and came to a stop. Police found him dead in the car with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Before driving to the sorority house, Rodger uploaded to YouTube a video titled "Elliot Rodger's Retribution", in which he outlined details of his upcoming attack and his motives. He explained that he wanted to punish women for rejecting him and to punish sexually-active men for living a more enjoyable life than his.

After uploading the video, Rodger e-mailed a lengthy autobiographical manuscript to approximately a dozen acquaintances and family members. The document, which he titled "My Twisted World", was made available on the Internet and became widely known as his "manifesto". In it, he described his childhood, family conflicts, frustration over not being able to find a girlfriend, his hatred of women, his contempt for racial minorities and interracial couples, and his plans for what he described as "retribution".

In September 2012, Rodger visited a shooting range to train himself in firing handguns. In November 2012, he purchased his first handgun, a Glock 34 pistol, in Goleta, after doing research on handguns. As documented in his manifesto, he assessed the Glock 34 as "an efficient and highly accurate weapon."

In early 2013, Rodger bought two additional handguns, both SIG Sauer P226 pistols, writing that they were "of a much higher quality than the Glock" and "a lot more efficient". He purchased the weapons in Oxnard and Burbank.