2014 Isla Vista killings

On May 23, 2014, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger, carrying 6- and 8-inch "SRK" and nine-inch boar hunting knife, first attacked his roommate, 20-year-old Weihan "David" Wang, as he entered their apartment. As Wang tried to defend himself, he was stabbed 15 times and suffered 23 slashes. Rodger dragged Wang's body to the corner of a bedroom and threw it on the floor facedown, partially covering it with blankets, towels, and clothing. 20-year-old Cheng Yuan "James" Hong, Rodger's other roommate, was still wearing his backpack and entered the apartment. He was ambushed by Rodger, and despite his attempts to defend himself, Hong was stabbed 25 times and slashed 12 times. Rodger dragged Hong's body to the same bedroom, throwing it face down halfway on top of Wang's body, also concealing Hong’s body with blankets and clothing. The final victim, 19-year-old George Chen, Hong and Wang's friend, arrived at the apartment last to visit them. Upon entering, Rodger immediately attacked Chen, stabbing him 94 times and slashing him 11 times as he attempted to defend himself. Rodger left Chen's body in a bathroom in a pool of blood. Rodger tried to clean the apartment's hallways and hide evidence of the earlier stabbings as each victim entered. He tried using bathroom towels and paper towels to clean up the blood, but they quickly became soaked. Despite his efforts, blood remained splattered on the hallways and its walls.

After killing the three men, Rodger changed out of his clothes that were drenched in blood, and entangled them with his bed sheets. He then went to Starbucks, where he bought a triple-vanilla latte. Less than three hours after his Starbucks visit, Rodger proceeded to upload a video on YouTube called "Elliot Rodger's Retribution". He also emailed a 137-page document called My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger to 34 people, including his parents, friends, and therapists. Rodger's mother was alerted by a call from her son's life coach Gavin Linderman to check an email her son sent. After seeing his manifesto and finding the "Retribution" video online, she and Rodger's father rushed towards the University while contacting the police. Rodger first went to the Alpha Phi sorority house, where he tried to get inside by knocking on the door for three minutes. Unable to enter, he became frustrated and returned to his car. He then noticed three members of the Delta Delta Delta sorority, 19-year-old Veronika Weiss, 22-year-old Katherine Cooper, and a 20-year-old woman, walking around the corner of the Alpha Phi sorority. As the three women were walking back to their Delta Delta Delta sorority house, Rodger slowly drove up to them, and from an open window, fired 15 rounds at them. Rodger sped away and people noticed the women bleeding on the grass. One person started giving Cooper CPR, while another tried to comfort Weiss by holding her head and speaking to her, but when the police arrived, the two women were already dead. The 20-year-old woman, in a call with her mother, was crying repeatedly that she was going to die. A deputy arrived to provide aid to her, applying pressure to her wounds. A bystander then came and continued to administer first aid while the deputy joined the pursuit of Rodger. A person told the woman's mother over the phone that her daughter was going to survive.

After leaving the sorority house, Rodger made a three-point turn in a driveway on Pardall Road. As he drove past a coffee shop on Pardall, he fired a shot into it, but the shop was closed. He proceeded to the IV Deli Mart, where he unleashed a barrage of gunfire at individuals nearby. 20-year-old Christopher Michaels-Martinez was at the deli's entrance when he turned around to look at Rodger's car. He was shot in the chest, resulting in injuries to his liver and the right ventricle of his heart. Michaels-Martinez managed to stumble inside the deli but fell to the ground. Rodger continued to fire additional shots into the deli, shattering windows as people scrambled for cover. Rodger drove away and despite CPR attempts by a 19-year-old woman and sheriff's deputy, Michaels-Martinez died from his injuries. Rodger then continued driving, hitting a man with his car, causing him to be thrown into the air. Driving on the wrong side of the street, he hit another pedestrian and fired at two people on the sidewalk but missed them. He shot a couple leaving a pizzeria and a female cyclist. After turning onto several streets, Rodger exchanged gunfire with a sheriff's deputy and hit two pedestrians. Rodger shot and injured three people on Sabado Tarde Street, hit a skateboarder and two cyclists with his car, and then shot two other men at another intersection. Near the intersection of El Embarcadero and Sabado Tarde, he had a shootout with four sheriff's deputies and got shot in the hip. Trying to escape the police, he turned onto several streets, hitting another cyclist who tumbled and damaged the car's windshield. Rodger eventually crashed his car into several other vehicles. As police surrounded the car, they mistakenly handcuffed the cyclist, thinking he might be a second suspect. They soon realized the cyclist was actually a victim, not involved in the attacks, and provided him with medical care. The police looked in the car and found Rodger dead from a self-inflected gunshot wound to the head.

Items found in car

Inside Rodger's car, authorities found a Glock 34 Long Slide handgun with seven loaded ten-round magazines, two SIG Sauer P226 handguns with 34 loaded ten-round magazines, over 500 additional rounds of live ammunition, and the two knives he used to kill his two roommates and their friend. The entire shooting spree unfolded within eight minutes, during which Rodger discharged approximately 55 9mm rounds. During the shootings, Rodger used only one of the three pistols, one of the Sig Sauer P226, which was discovered on the driver's seat of his car.

Victims killed

Rodger's rampage resulted in the deaths of six people, all University of California, Santa Barbara students, with 14 others sustaining injuries.

• 20-year-old Weihan "David" Wang (stabbed to death)
• 20-year-old Cheng Yuan "James" Hong (stabbed to death)
• 19-year-old George Chen (stabbed to death)
• 22-year-old Katherine "Katie" Breanne Cooper (shot to death)
• 19-year-old Veronika Elizabeth Weiss (shot to death)
• 20-year-old Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez (shot to death)

Following the attacks, law enforcement obtained a search warrant and conducted a protective sweep of Rodger's apartment. After removing a window screen, authorities looked inside and found Chen's body lying in a fetal position on the bathroom floor. They breached the apartment and also found the bodies of Hong and Wang in their bedroom. Police removed a 6-by-5-foot portion of carpet from Hong and Wang's shared bedroom and cut a portion of vinyl flooring from around the toilet in the bathroom. Additionally, they cleaned a few feet of blood-stained carpeting that separated the bedroom and bathroom.

When they searched Rodger's room, they found it to be a mess, finding pharmacy documents for prescriptions, two gun cleaning kits, Monster Energy drinks, lottery tickets, a copy of The Art of Seduction, various video games, and a Starbucks coffee cup. Additionally, police found a folding knife, a "zombie killer" knife with a 10-inch blade, an 18-inch blade machete, a sledgehammer, and multiple other knives. They discovered his bed sheets and pillows were stabbed repeatedly, indicating he was practicing before killing his first three victims. Police also found a hand-drawn picture of something getting stabbed and a printed copy of Rodger's 137-page manifesto. His laptop was found open to YouTube, displaying his recently uploaded "Retribution" video. A handwritten journal was left open to an entry dated May 23, 2014, reading:

I had to tear some pages out because I feared my intentions would be discovered. I taped them back together as fast as I could. This is it. In one hour I will have my revenge on this cruel world. I HATE YOU ALLLL! DIE.

Aftermath

In an interview, Wang's parents said their son wanted to move out because Rodger wasn't very social. He complained to the building manager that Rodger would play loud music in the middle of the night. Wang found a new apartment and had planned to move there with his friends for the next semester. In June 2014, Rodger's body was released from the coroner’s office and cremated.

Students and the community came together at Anisq'Oyo Park in Isla Vista on the night of May 24 for a candlelight gathering to remember the victims. Three days later, on May 27, over 20,000 people attended a memorial at the University's Harder Stadium. During the memorial, Michaels-Martinez's father, Richard Martinez, spoke about his son and repeatedly yelled, "Not one more!"

Elliot Oliver Robertson Rodger (July 24, 1991 – May 23, 2014) was an English-American former college student, and the sole perpetrator of the 2014 Isla Vista killings.

Early life

Rodger was born on July 24, 1991, in London, England to parents Peter Rodger and Li Chin Tye. His mother Li Chin is Malaysian Chinese and worked as a nurse during the production of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. His father is British and was involved in the film industry, directing commercials and serving as a second unit director on the 2012 film The Hunger Games. Rodger's grandfather, George Rodger, was a well-known photojournalist known for his World War II photography. Rodger's parents had another girl but divorced by the time Rodger was seven. Rodger's father later remarried to Soumaya Akaaboune, a Moroccan actress known for her role in Les Vraies Housewives, the French version of The Real Housewives series, and for having a small role in Matt Damon's movie Green Zone. Rodger's father and Akaaboune soon had a son together.

Rodger attended Crespi Carmelite High School, an all-boys Catholic school in Encino, Los Angeles, and then Taft High School in Woodland Hills, which he attended for only a week due to severe bullying. He last attended Independence Continuation High School in Lake Balboa from where he graduated in 2010. Rodger briefly enrolled in Los Angeles Pierce College and Moorpark College, dropping out of both community colleges after getting severely jealous of seeing other couples. In an attempt to help Rodger socialize more, Rodger's parents agreed to pay for his college and apartment, helping him move to Isla Vista and transfer to Santa Barbara City College in June 2011. By February 2012, Rodger's frustration with his social interactions, particularly with women, led him to withdraw from all his college classes from Santa Barbara City College.

Mental health and social problems

Rodger faced mental health challenges from a young age but was never hospitalized for mental illness. He struggled in social situations, often cried in crowds, and displayed repetitive behaviors. He repeatedly talked about committing suicide but had no previous violent history. In 2007, he was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified, an autism spectrum disorder that causes significant social developmental challenges. Rodger struggled with managing anger towards his peers who he felt were leading better lives. At 15, he was prescribed Xanax and Prozac, and later Paxil, but stopped taking the medication a year later. Due to Rodger's ongoing anger and towards couples and his struggles with trying to fit in, it was suggested that he be put into a residential treatment program which would provide him with daily individual therapy, group therapy, and training to help with his social skills.

Rodger's parents sought more professional help for him, leading to therapy sessions with celebrity psychiatrist Charles Sophy in late 2012. Sophy prescribed Rodger risperidone, an antipsychotic drug, which Rodger refused to take after researching about it online. Subsequently, Rodger stopped going to his appointments with Sophy by the fall of 2013. In 2013, when asked how he dealt with his anger towards his peers, Rodger responded that he "just holds it all in." He was also helped by three counselors in Santa Barbara, attending about 29 sessions from May 2013 to May 2014. He also had meetings with life coach Gavin Linderman in Los Angeles. In the months leading up to the shooting, he started retaking Xanax to help with his anxiety. Dale Launer, a family friend, mentioned he gave Rodger advice on how to approach women, but Rodger did not take his advice. Launer also recalled that when he first met Rodger at the age of eight or nine, he could already sense that something was not right with him.

Rodger's parents

While Rodger's father and his step-mother, along with Li Chin, drove separately, Peter kept calling his son's phone, trying to reach him. Both parents were also in communication with the sheriff's department over their phones. As they approached Isla Vista, they were instructed by police to wait in a nearby Home Depot parking lot for further information. A sheriff arrived and notified them their son had been found dead, confirmed by his license. Devastated by the news of their son's death, his parents thought he was a victim and were unaware that he was the killer until hours later when they saw reports on the internet. Authorities and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed search warrants at the houses of Rodger's parents, initially visiting his father's home in Woodland Hills. Subsequently, they conducted a search at his mother's house in West Hills. Following these events, Rodger's family faced several death threats that forced them to move every two days.

In June 2014, after Michaels-Martinez's father requested to meet Rodger's father, the two met up and talked about how they would help end gun violence. Later that month, during an interview with Barbara Walters, Peter shared that he initially believed his son was a victim in the attacks, not the perpetrator. He explained that despite his son's long history of social difficulties and years of therapy, he never envisioned him capable of such violence. Peter acknowledged his son's distress over being a virgin and even considered taking him to Las Vegas to lose his virginity, a proposal his son rejected. He also mentioned getting mad at his son after finding out about his involvement with misogynistic online forums. Peter described his son as being really good at hiding his true state of mind and expressed deep regret for the agony inflicted on the victims' families.

In February 2012, after being unable to find a girlfriend, Rodger mentioned in his manifesto that the "Day of Retribution" became a possibility. He became fixated on winning the lottery as he believed it was the only way for him to lose his virginity due to the wealth he would acquire. By June 2012, Rodger wrote that winning The Mega Millions lottery jackpot was the only way in which he would not carry out his planned "Day of Retribution." When he did not win the jackpot in September 2012, he visited a gun range in Oxnard, California. Starting in November 2012, Rodger made several trips from California to Arizona to buy tickets for the Powerball jackpot, but after failing to win, he began to actively plan his attack. His first purchase was a Glock 34 semiautomatic pistol, which he bought for $700 in December 2012. In spring 2013, he bought an Sig Sauer P226 for $1,100. He saved up $5,000 for the supplies needed for the attack, and was able to buy another Sig Sauer P226 in 2014. From February through April 2014, Rodger visited multiple gun ranges, also making multiple ammunition purchases. He funded his weapon purchases with money he had saved from gifts from his grandparents and the $500 monthly allowance his father sent him.

Further planning

In August 2013, Rodger decided to delay his planned attack until Spring 2014. By January 2014, he had chosen April 26, 2014, as the new date for his attack. Rodger initially planned to carry out his attack on Halloween in 2013 but decided against it, thinking there would be too many police officers around at that time. He also thought about launching his attack on Valentine's Day and during Deltopia, a spring break event that attracts thousands of young people to Isla Vista in early April. However, he decided against these dates too, concerned about the high presence of police and realizing he needed more time to prepare for the attack. In his manifesto, Rodger expressed a desire to kill his half-brother, fearing he would grow up to be more popular with girls than him. He also wanted to kill his stepmother because he disliked her. Rodger planned to carry out these murders while his father was away on a business trip, concerned he might have to kill his father too if his plans were discovered. However, on April 24, Rodger fell ill with a cold, which led him to postpone his attack to May 24, 2014.

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. 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.

Rodger detailed his plan for his "Day of Retribution," and divided it into three parts. 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. 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, calling them "spoiled, heartless, wicked bitches", and wanting to kill as many blond women as possible. In his final phase, Rodger planned to drive to his father's house and kill his step-mother and half-brother. He would then steal their Mercedes SUV and drive it to Isla Vista, shooting and hitting as many people as possible with his car. 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.

Rodger mainly expressed his emotions through platforms like YouTube, where he shared his frustrations about his romantic failures and views on life. In April 2014, he uploaded multiple videos on YouTube, expressing his deep loneliness and frustration due to his unsuccessful attempts at attracting a girlfriend. In the videos, Rodger would question why women would prefer "inferior" men over him, questioning why his perceived good looks, high end clothes, and expensive car failed to garner any attention or acknowledgment from women, with video titles such as: "Why do girls hate me so much?", "Life is so unfair because girls don't want me", and "My reaction to seeing a young couple at the beach, Envy". He would secretly follow couples and record them while complaining how lonely he felt by seeing them. In additional videos, he recorded himself taking drives around California while dancing to music from musicians like Whitney Houston, George Michael, and Phil Collins. Rodger was subscribed to multiple YouTube channels associated with the Men's rights movement, which posted content aimed at advising men on attracting and talking with women. Rodger also had a second YouTube channel named "Valtharion". He would leave negative comment across several videos, calling women derogatory terms and accusing other men of lying about their relationships with women. Rodger also boasted about his affluent family background and expressed a sense of superiority due to being half-white. Minutes before Rodger left for the Alpha Phi sorority house, he uploaded a video on YouTube called "Elliot Rodger's Retribution". In the video, Rodger is seen sitting in his BMW during a sunset, reciting scripted lines and letting out fake laughs. Rodger explained in the video that he was frustrated that he was still a virgin at 22, that he would "punish" women for rejecting him despite being a "Supreme Gentleman," and expressed his hatred for sexually active men. On his personal blog "Elliot Rodger's Official Blog," he portrayed himself as a "sophisticated, polite gentleman," expressing his difficulties in socializing and connecting with others in Isla Vista. Rodger shared selfies on his Facebook profile, showcasing himself enjoying luxurious plane rides and attending movie premieres. Rodger also frequently shared photos on his Google+ and YouTube, often showcasing himself alongside his BMW.

Rodger's online activities included numerous searches related to Nazis, such as researching Joseph Goebbels and Heinrich Himmler, and looking up topics like "Did Adolf Hitler have a girlfriend," "Adolf Hitler and the law of attraction," "Nazi curbstomp," “Holocaust of black people," and "Nazi anime." Rodger also searched for information on "modern torture devices" and "Spanish Inquisition torture devices." Rodger frequently engaged with online forums such as ForeverAlone and PUAHate, communities linked with the Manosphere that promoted masculinity, misogyny, and opposition to feminism. Within these forums, Rodger and other men identified themselves as "incels," a term for involuntary celibate, where they discussed their struggles to find a romantic or sexual partner, criticized each other, and expressed disdain towards women and pick-up artists. Because users on PUAHate shared similar negative perceptions of women, it further convinced Rodger that the difficulties some men experienced in finding partners were because women are "wicked and degenerate." When a user suggested that lucid dreaming having sex could serve as a substitute for their lack of intimacy in real life, Rodger argued that incels needed to initiate a "revolution," citing it was essential to "destroy" the issues they faced by recognizing their "true strength and numbers." Furthermore, Rodger advocated for the overthrow of what he termed the "oppressive feminist system," envisioning a world where women would live in fear of incels. Rodger also expressed racist views in his posts towards interracial couples, including mocking an Asian man trying to date a white women and stating it was "rage-inducing" after he saw a black man hanging out with white women. After a user accused him of being racist, Rodger expressed that he was shocked that white women would choose "undeserving" men over him. Rodger would post his YouTube videos to forums like Bodybuilding.com, where despite his attempts to showcase his loneliness, users left comments on his videos that ridiculed him, branding him as desperate and insecure. On bodybuilding.com, a user compared Rodger's demeanor to that of a serial killer, attributing his romantic failures to sounding creepy. Additionally, one of Rodger's YouTube videos garnered attention on Reddit's "cringe" forum, where a user drew comparisons between Rodger and the fictional serial killer Patrick Bateman from American Psycho. On the day of his attacks, Rodger looked up pornography online and searched the terms "quiet silent kill with a knife" and "how to kill someone with a knife". He posted on PUAHate days before the planned attacks:

You’re all jealous of my 10/10 pretty-boy face This site is full of stupid, disgusting, mentally ill degenerates who take pleasure in putting down others. That is all I have to say on here. Goodbye.

Controversy over publication of Rodger's videos and manifesto

Several news networks limited the use of the "Retribution" video posted by Rodger for fear of triggering copycat crimes. On May 27, 2014, YouTube took down Rodger's "Retribution" video, stating it broke their rules by showing a threat of violence. Experts noted that taking down the video would cause it to be shared even more across the internet. Genius.com co-founder Mahbod Moghadam resigned after receiving negative media attention by adding annotations on Genius.com to the manifesto written by Rodger, calling Rodger's sister "smokin hot" and describing the document as "beautifully written". Genius.com CEO Tom Lehman said in a statement that it "went beyond that into gleeful insensitivity and misogyny".

On July 20, 2013, Rodger, wanting to lose his virginity days before his 22nd birthday, drank vodka to become drunk. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. Rodger explained that the videos were his way of expressing his social difficulties in Isla Vista. The officers concluded that Rodger did not pose an immediate risk to himself or others, making him ineligible for involuntary hold. Before they left, a deputy called Rodger's mother to update her and handed the phone to Rodger, who reassured her he was alright and would call her later. The deputies also provided Rodger with information on local support services. 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.

After the attacks, PUAHate closed its forums, mentioning that it was "for maintenance", but it was then permanently shut down, causing its members to go to other chatrooms and forums. Men on social media and in the comments on Rodger's YouTube videos, empathized with Rodger's views and difficulties, with some suggesting that being ignored by women was a valid reason for committing murder against them. A Facebook page named "Elliot Rodger Is an American Hero" was created, calling on men to share their thoughts and pay tribute to Rodger for what was described as his "ultimate sacrifice in the struggle against feminazi ideology." The page also shared Rodger's "Retribution" video, with several commentators expressing support for his quest for vengeance against women. Activists reported the page for promoting hate speech, harassment, and violence, and initiated a campaign on Twitter encouraging others to report the page to Facebook. Facebook's response was that the page did not infringe upon its community standards, leading to widespread criticism on Twitter. Ultimately, the page was deactivated, with Facebook citing its Statement of Rights and Responsibilities as the rationale for the decision.

The Isla Vista killings brought the incel community into the mainstream, with it having been praised by young men around the world who identify as incels, believing themselves unable to get a girlfriend and that they deserved sex. Rodger's actions have sparked numerous memes, including one that features his face edited into a religious painting. On forums like 4chan and Reddit, some users revere him as a "saint" and celebrate "Saint Elliot Day" every anniversary of his attacks. Additionally, men posted tribute songs, and others have created and distributed t-shirts with Rodger's image, with one man creating videos to unbox the t-shirts. Discussions about committing mass murders against women and sexually active men, who are referred to as "chads" and "stacys", are common. Incels refer to Rodger as "E.R.", and acts of violence by incels are often described as "going E.R." Moreover, Rodger has been mentioned by individuals responsible for or suspected in other mass killings. For example, on April 23, 2018, 25-year-old Alek Minassian killed 11 people and injured 15 others in Toronto, Canada, by driving a van through the city. Before his attack, Minassian posted on his Facebook profile:

Private (Recruit) Minassian Infantry 00010, wishing to speak to Sgt 4chan please. C23249161. The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!

Twitter hashtags

Following the misogynistic nature of Rodger's crimes and the identification of his hatred for women as a motivating factor, some Twitter users employed the hashtag #NotAllMen to express that "not all men" behave in such a manner or would commit similar acts. Other users believed the attacks were not misogynistic because Rodger killed more men than women. The hashtag faced criticism for diverting attention away from the broader issue of the dangers against women. In a bid to shift the focus back to the issues of misogyny and sexism experienced by women, two Twitter users introduced the hashtag #YesAllWomen, highlighting that all women endure sexism and misogyny. Within just four days of its inception, the #YesAllWomen hashtag had been used 1.2 million times on Twitter, quickly eclipsing previous hashtags that aimed to spotlight violence and sexism against women.

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. 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. 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.

U.S. District Judge John 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. 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. 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 claimed a settlement was reached but said it was "confidential". Sources found that a settlement of $20 million was reached.

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.

Misogyny

The attack sparked discussion of broader issues of violence against women and misogyny. According to the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism at the Hague, Rodger's attacks were an act of misogynist terrorism. The US Secret Service described it as "misogynistic extremism". 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". 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. 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.

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. 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'."

Gun control and mental health

The attacks renewed calls for gun control and improvements in the American health care system. 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. Several legislators in California demanded an evaluation of the interaction between the deputies and Rodger on April 30, with the FBI launching an investigation on how the Sheriff's Office handled the situation. The deputies did not consult the California gun ownership database, which already showed Rodger's purchase of at least two handguns. They also did not examine the YouTube videos that led Rodger's parents to reach out to them. 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. 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. 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.

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. 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. 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. 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. Additionally, he extended his sympathies towards the parents of Rodger. 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. 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. 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. Jackson's bill received unanimous Senate approval in August 2014. 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. Governor Jerry Brown ultimately signed both bills into law in September 2014.

• "Holden's Manifesto", an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, is based on this event.
• Rodger was mentioned several times in the Criminal Minds episode "Alpha Male".
• Chanel Miller recounts her experience as a student at UCSB during the event in her 2019 memoir Know My Name.
• The 2023 science fiction film The Beast features a character, played by George MacKay, inspired by Rodger. The film contains re-creations of Rodger's YouTube videos.

• List of homicides in California
• List of mass shootings in the United States
• List of rampage killers in the United States
• Thor Nis Christiansen, a serial killer targeting young women residing in the same area from 1976 to 1977

• "Transcript of "Elliot Rodger's Retribution"". Los Angeles Times. May 24, 2014.