Elliot Rodger

Elliot Oliver Robertson Rodger (July 24, 1991 – May 23, 2014) was a British-American mass murderer who perpetrated the Isla Vista attacks, where he murdered six people and injured fourteen others, before he fatally shot himself. The murders he committed, his suicide, and his manifesto have been named as early influences on the incel and manosphere subculture.

Born in London, Rodger relocated to California with his family as a child. Son of British filmmaker Peter Rodger, he grew up in a privileged household. Rodger struggled with social isolation, mental health issues, and rejection. As a teenager, he was diagnosed with pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS), but did not meet the criteria for an autism diagnosis. He started treatment and received special education resources and therapy for most of his life. He endured bullying during his time in middle and high school. Several incidents of Rodger's strange behavior during his time in Isla Vista, California, along with videos and other writings that mentioned violent intentions, worried his family and acquaintances.

On May 23, 2014, Rodger murdered six people and injured fourteen others using knives, semi-automatic pistols, and his car as a weapon in Isla Vista near the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Rodger first killed his two roommates and their friend in the apartment they shared, ambushing and stabbing them one at a time as they arrived at different times. Hours later, he drove to the Alpha Phi sorority house, where he intended to murder its occupants but was unable to enter the premises. Rodger instead shot at three women from the Delta Delta Delta sorority who were walking near the Alpha Phi sorority house, killing two of them while critically injuring the third. He later drove by a nearby delicatessen, shooting and killing a man inside. Afterward, Rodger drove around Isla Vista, indiscriminately shooting and ramming pedestrians with his vehicle. He exchanged gunfire with sheriff's deputies twice, getting shot in his hip. Shortly after, he crashed his vehicle into a parked car. As police examined the vehicle, they found Rodger dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.

Before starting the attacks, Rodger uploaded a video to YouTube, announcing his intention to "punish" women—as well as the men to whom they were attracted—for their lack of interest in him. He also e-mailed a 137-page manifesto—in which he described his major life events, personal struggles, and frustrations at having remained a lifelong virgin—to several of his family members, acquaintances, and therapists. In the years following his death, Rodger's attacks became a topic in conversations about mental health, online radicalization, and misogyny. He is cited as an early figure of the incel and manosphere subculture, being referred to as a "saint" in internet forums. Rodger's attacks have often been praised by incels around the world. He has both influenced and been referenced by perpetrators of other copycat killings, with some referring to their actions as "going E.R." Rodger’s killings have sparked social media campaigns such as #NotAllMen and #YesAllWomen and have contributed to ongoing debates about toxic masculinity, gender-based violence, and the influence of internet forums in radicalizing young men who intend to commit copycat crimes.

Early life Elliot Oliver Robertson Rodger was born on July 24, 1991, in Lambeth, London, England, to Peter Rodger and Ong Li Chin. Peter, a British national, is a filmmaker who has directed television commercials. His mother is Malaysian Chinese and has also worked in the film industry; after training in health care, she worked as an on-set nurse during production of The Princess Bride (1987) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). His paternal grandfather George Rodger was a photojournalist who was well known for his images of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

Following Rodger's birth, his family moved to Sussex, England, where he enjoyed an affluent and privileged childhood. Li Chin left her work in health care to take care of Rodger and soon bore a daughter. Rodger developed a close relationship with his maternal grandmother, who later moved with his family. He initially attended Dorset House School, a private, all-boys school in West Sussex. When Rodger was five, due to his father's directing career, his family moved to Woodland Hills, an upscale neighborhood of Los Angeles. Rodger claimed that his first friend in the United States was the daughter of British musician Paul Humphreys, and that she was his first and only female friend. Rodger then attended Topanga Elementary School.

Rodger's parents divorced when he was seven years old. Custody of Rodger was split between his parents' homes, and a year after their divorce, Rodger's father married Moroccan-born French actress Soumaya Akaaboune. Rodger expressed shock at how quickly his father remarried, but ultimately came to respect him for his decision. He soon viewed romantic relationships with women as a marker of social status. Rodger struggled with social interactions from an early age. In elementary school, he was withdrawn, whispered responses, and wrote answers instead of speaking. He avoided peers at recess and was overwhelmed by social gatherings. A trip to Disneyland around age five brought him to tears due to the crowds. He also exhibited repetitive behaviors such as making noises and foot-tapping.

In 1999, Rodger's mother filed an affidavit asking for more child support from his father, labeling her son as a "high-functioning autistic child" with special needs. Rodger's father presented a diagnosis by a doctor, who stated the autism diagnosis was incorrect because the examiner might have missed conditions such as depression and anxiety. Rodger had a difficult relationship with his stepmother Akaaboune, whose parental authority he rejected in favor of that of his biological mother.

As he grew, Rodger became self-conscious about his short height and slender frame; Rodger claimed one of his bullies was a blonde girl, which he stated contributed to the development of his misogynistic attitudes. Rodger's grades declined, his social activity decreased, and he immersed himself in video games such as World of Warcraft at his parents' houses and cybercafés. Rodger's stepmother became concerned with his unwillingness to socialize and made him stop playing his video games, causing tensions between the two to escalate. When he was aged 11, a user on an AOL chatroom shared sexually explicit images of women with Rodger, which, he wrote, left him shocked and overwhelmed with emotion.

High school After finishing middle school, Rodger attended Crespi Carmelite High School and later William Howard Taft Charter High School. During his time at both schools, he reported experiencing severe bullying by other students, which contributed to anxiety and social withdrawal. While Rodger did not meet the criteria to be diagnosed with autism, his PDD-NOS diagnosis helped him receive special educational resources.

At the age of 17, Rodger reacted to the suggestion of visiting his stepmother's home country, Morocco, with a temper tantrum. He went with his stepmother and half-brother but remained discontent and continuously emailed his mother until she allowed him to return to her home. His father's filmmaking career severely declined during the 2000s, culminating in the documentary film Oh My God (2009), which bombed at the box office. Rodger wrote that he read online discussions about teenage sexual activity that intensified his feelings of envy, leading him to view sexually active peers as enemies. He urged his mother to marry a wealthy man, but she refused. Rodger later pursued screenwriting and inventing as possible paths to success, but eventually abandoned these efforts. Tensions continued to escalate between Rodger and his stepmother, and he was soon ejected from his father's house. Rodger enrolled at Los Angeles Pierce College, but dropped out shortly after.

Rodger took comfort in the knowledge that his best friend, whom he had known since childhood, was also a virgin, but could not understand why his friend was not angry with women, as he was. Seeing his friend as weak, Rodger eventually confessed to him his thoughts of taking over the world and killing people. Their friendship grew strained, and Rodger's friend began to distance himself from Rodger. Another friend later noticed Rodger's behavior and reached out to Li Chin, who told him that Rodger was already receiving treatment.

Santa Barbara Rodger moved into the Capri Apartments (pictured) in June 2011.

Rodger's parents decided to send him to college in Santa Barbara and agreed to pay for his apartment and classes. On June 4, 2011, Rodger moved into the Capri Apartments in Isla Vista near the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) campus. When he shared an apartment with two Hispanic roommates, he would call them racial slurs and insist he was "superior." When his next roommate took his girlfriend to their apartment, Rodger began arguing with him, telling him he was "foolish" for being happy in a relationship with an "ugly whore".

Rodger soon began developing hostility toward the people in Isla Vista, viewing himself as deserving of relationships with attractive blonde women and resenting those he perceived as more socially successful. Rodger started to have thoughts of killing women and couples, envisioning himself murdering couples when they were engaged in sexual activity. In July 2011, during a visit to a Starbucks coffee outlet, Rodger saw a couple kissing; he followed them outside and threw his coffee at them. The man yelled at Rodger, who fled the scene. That same month, Rodger noticed a couple kissing at a food court and later splashed them with iced tea. He became attracted to a woman in his math class and later discovered her Facebook profile, where he saw she had a boyfriend. He became angered by this and subsequently dropped the class. Rodger soon developed an obsession with designer clothing, purchasing items in an attempt to elevate his status. He would roam around Isla Vista every day, often sitting outside a Domino's Pizza outlet hoping a woman would find him attractive and initiate a conversation with him.

By February 2012, Rodger withdrew from all of his classes at SBCC due to his frustration with his social interactions, particularly with women. He began to contemplate what he called a "Day of Retribution", a planned attack on women and couples. The next day, Rodger went to the red-carpet premiere of The Hunger Games with his father and stepmother, where he met Jack Ross, the 16-year-old son of the film's director Gary Ross. money he had saved from gifts from his grandparents and the $500 monthly allowance from his father. The following month, after failing to win a $120 million Mega Millions jackpot, Rodger broke his laptop in frustration. While traveling to Oxnard the following day to purchase a replacement, Rodger visited a shooting range to learn how to use a firearm. He purchased another handgun, a SIG Sauer P226, in Burbank for $1,100 in March 2013.

Rodger initially scheduled his attacks to take place around Halloween 2013, but realized the heightened police presence during the holiday would likely thwart his plans. He replanned his attacks for sometime in November 2013. Rodger initially joined them for social activities but after a few outings, he began to distance himself from them. One of the roommates suspected Rodger possessed a firearm after hearing a clicking sound coming from his room numerous times. Both of his roommates moved out in June 2013, having become uncomfortable living with Rodger. He later went back to look for his sunglasses and entered the wrong house, where he was assaulted by the occupants, sustaining bruises and a swollen eye before returning to his apartment.

The following day, Rodger's father took his son to a hospital, where surgery was performed on his ankle. He helped his son file a police report, which caused two sheriff's deputies to attend the hospital to question Rodger. Rodger claimed that he was pushed off the ledge by four men after insulting one man's appearance. He stated that he then went to the front yard of another house and sat down on a chair, where he was approached by approximately ten men who told him to leave. Rodger claimed he was grabbed by them and dragged to the house's driveway, where the men began hitting and calling him a homophobic slur; he remarked he struck one of them once before being further beaten. The police would classify it as a possible hate crime. When asked why he did not call the police, Rodger said he did not know whom to contact. A deputy remarked on Rodger's dishonesty, deeming him too timid to tell the truth. A man at the party confirmed that Rodger had instigated the incident, noting he acted strangely and did not talk to anyone. giving him hope he might attract a girlfriend during the remainder of 2013. During his treatment with Sophy, he was prescribed the antipsychotic drug risperidone, which Rodger decided not to take after researching it online. Peter sought assistance from his friend Dale Launer, a filmmaker known for his work on relationship-themed films, in an effort to improve Rodger's interactions with women. Rodger's mother later enlisted the help of an agency that provided three counselors. Between May 2013 and May 2014, Rodger attended 29 sessions; he connected well with two male counselors but became jealous when they socialized with others. During their meetings, Rodger told Linderman about his struggles with his virginity. Rodger remained socially isolated from the two and had little interaction with them.

In October 2013, Rodger's envy of his half-brother intensified after his stepmother told him that his half-brother had recently been signed by an agent for television commercials. Rodger wrote that he planned to murder his half-brother, expressing resentment and fearing he would be surpassed socially. He also planned to stab his stepmother in the neck, citing their strained relationship and stating that he believed she would interfere with his planned attacks. Rodger planned to commit the murders while his father was away on a business trip, as he was concerned he might hesitate if confronted with the task of killing his father as well. Wang filed a complaint with the building's management stating that Rodger played loud music during the night. On January 15, 2014, a fight started after Rodger became irritated by Hong's cooking and took some of Hong's kitchen items. Hong responded by taking three of Rodger's candles, valued at $22, which Rodger reported stolen, and placed Hong under citizen's arrest. Police were called, and Hong was arrested for petty theft after he refused to return the candles. Officers located the candles in his bed. Hong and Wang were angered by Rodger's actions but refrained from confronting him, concerned it might worsen their living conditions. The parents of Hong and Wang grew concerned about their sons' living situation, but their sons reassured them that everything was fine. Hong and Wang distanced themselves from Rodger and signed a lease for a different apartment for the following semester. Rodger later wrote that he intended to murder both Hong and Wang, stating that he would have to eliminate them "to get them out of the way".

By January 2014, Rodger had imagined launching his planned attacks during Valentine's Day or Deltopia, a spring break event in Isla Vista in early April, but dismissed those dates due to an anticipated heightened police presence and the additional time needed for preparation. In February 2014, Rodger, while drunk and wandering alone through Isla Vista, called his sister to complain about women ignoring him. Rodger's sister reassured and calmed him. Concerned about his social isolation, she became worried the social scene in Isla Vista would further damage her brother's mental health.

In additional YouTube videos, Rodger recorded himself driving around Southern California in his BMW while listening to music by artists such as Whitney Houston, George Michael, and Phil Collins. He posted his videos to forums such as Bodybuilding.com; while some users mocked him as desperate and insecure, Rodger subscribed to multiple YouTube channels associated with the men's rights movement that posted content advising men on attracting and talking with women. He had a second YouTube channel named "Valtharion". Rodger would leave negative comments with some videos, calling women derogatory terms and accusing other men of lying about their relationships with women. He also boasted about his affluent family background and expressed racist viewpoints.

Rodger conducted online searches related to mass violence, including Adolf Hitler, Joseph Goebbels, and Heinrich Himmler. He also searched celebrities, luxury automobiles, Nazism, knife attacks, and racially charged topics. Rodger used queries such as "Adolf Hitler and the law of attraction", "Nazi curbstomp", and "Holocaust of black people". Along with such comments expressing racist and misogynistic views, Rodger posts showed resentment of interracial relationships. When Rodger told his father about the forums, his father confronted him, warning him that the content was negative and inappropriate and that he should not visit them. On April 24, Rodger became sick with a cold and his father returned early from his business trip, causing Rodger to question whether these events were a sign to abandon his plans. Responding to the request, four sheriff's deputies, a university police officer, and a dispatcher-in-training visited Rodger's apartment.

When the police arrived at Rodger's apartment, he said the videos were his way of expressing his social difficulties in Isla Vista and that he had no intention of hurting anyone or himself. After the police left, Rodger removed most videos from YouTube. The following day, Rodger's mother contacted the counseling office at SBCC but was unable to reach anyone.

Final planning and manifesto

Rodger created a 137-page manifesto entitled My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger. In the manifesto, Rodger describes his life and frustrations in staying a virgin. He described women as a "plague" and said their right to choose their own partners could "hinder the advancement of humanity"; and that "civilized men of intelligence" should choose women's sexual partners. He also stated women should not be given any rights, and that their "wickedness" needed to be "contained" to avoid the risk of humanity "falling into degeneracy". According to Rodger, to "purify the world", it is necessary to remove love and sex from human existence. He imagined himself as a leader with "fanatically loyal troops" who imprison women in concentration camps, and the few left alive 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 phases. The day before starting his proposed phases, Rodger planned to drive to his father's house to kill his stepmother and half-brother. Rodger's first phase involved killing his two roommates and then luring victims into his apartment, slowly torturing them before killing them. In the second phase, which he dubbed the "War on Women", he aimed to target "the very girls who represent everything I hate in the female gender", specifically focusing on the Alpha Phi sorority house with the intent to kill as many occupants as possible before setting fire to the building. In his final phase, after setting the sorority house on fire, he would proceed to shoot and run over as many people in Isla Vista as possible with his parents' SUV. Rodger replied that his parents had forced him to take the videos down, but planned to repost them.

On May 20, one of Rodger's videos was posted on Reddit's "r/cringe" subreddit, where users discussed Rodger's mental health and debated calling the police, with some making fun of Rodger and saying it was a fake,

Apartment stabbings Before starting his attacks, Rodger took Xanax. He looked up pornography online and searched the terms "quiet silent kill with a knife" and "how to kill someone with a knife" before practicing stabbing on his bed sheets and pillows. Rodger armed himself with a six-inch "SRK" knife and eight-inch hunting knife. Rodger ambushed and fatally stabbed his first victim when his roommate Wang returned to the apartment. Wang suffered fifteen stab wounds and twenty-three slashes while attempting to defend himself, after which Rodger moved Wang's body to Wang and Hong's shared bedroom and attempted to conceal it. Rodger then ambushed and fatally stabbed Hong when he entered afterward; Hong sustained twenty-five stab wounds and twelve slashes while attempting to defend himself. Rodger also moved Hong's body to the same shared bedroom and tried to conceal it. Later, 19-year-old George Chen, a friend of Hong and Wang who had come to visit them, entered the apartment and was ambushed and stabbed as Chen attempted to defend himself. Chen sustained ninety-four stab wounds and eleven slashes. His body was left in a bathroom. He then returned to his apartment and wrote in his journal:

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. In the video, Rodger repeated grievances about his life and described his intention to "punish" women and sexually active men.

Shootings and car attacks

At around 9:15 p.m., Rodger drove to the Alpha Phi sorority house. After failing to enter, at 9:27 p.m., he noticed three women, members of the Delta Delta Delta sorority, walking around the Alpha Phi sorority house. Rodger pulled up to them in his car and opened fire, killing 19-year-old Veronika Weiss and 22-year-old Katherine "Katie" Cooper while severely wounding a third woman. Rodger then drove past a deli, shooting inside and killing 20-year-old Christopher "Chris" Michaels-Martinez with a single gunshot wound to the chest. While driving further through Isla Vista, Rodger shot seven people and wounded seven others with his BMW by striking them. He exchanged gunfire with police twice and was shot in the hip. He then crashed his BMW into a parked car and was found dead by police from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at 9:35 p.m. over 500 rounds of live ammunition; and two knives he used to kill his two roommates and their friend. all of whom were UCSB students, with fourteen others sustaining injuries, , Cheng Yuan "James" Hong, sophomore majoring in computer engineering sophomore majoring in computer science Veronika Elizabeth Weiss, , freshman and member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority majoring in financial mathematics and statistics Katherine "Katie" Breann Cooper, , senior and member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority double majoring in art history and classics and archeology Christopher "Chris" Ross Michaels-Martinez, ,

Aftermath Actions by Rodger's parents At around 10 p.m., Rodger's mother received a text message from Linderman that she initially ignored. Linderman then called her, telling her Rodger had sent an email and said he also discovered her son's "Retribution" video online, advising her to check them. Li Chin accessed the email, which contained his manifesto and his video. Rodger's parents then received a call from a sheriff's detective,

Incidents after attacks Following the attacks, police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) conducted search warrants at the homes of Rodger's parents, first at his father's home in Woodland Hills and then at his mother's house in West Hills. Due to the attacks, Rodger's family received intense media attention and death threats, forcing them to move every two days. An autopsy done on Rodger's body concluded he died from suicide by a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head.

In early June 2014, Rodger's father met with Richard Martinez, the father of Michaels-Martinez, to talk about Michaels-Martinez's life and death. In a June 2014 interview, Peter told journalist Barbara Walters that although Rodger had a long history of social problems and had gone through years of therapy, he did not believe his son was capable of murder. He stated that his son was good at hiding his true emotions and described him as an "incredible liar". Posts in these communities have included tribute songs, merchandise featuring his image, and memes depicting him in quasi-religious imagery. Some users refer to him as a "saint" and mark the anniversary of the killings as "Saint Elliot Day". Within these forums, his name was often abbreviated as "E.R." and his attacks have been cited as an inspiration by individuals involved in or suspected of other acts of mass violence, sometimes described as "going E.R."