Suspect in California Rampage Was Found With 400 Unspent Rounds of Ammo

Adam Chandler
Suspect in California Rampage Was Found With 400 Unspent Rounds of Ammo

Update

Sunday, 10:12 a.m.: Details continue to emerge from the weekend's shooting rampage in California. The revelation of a 141-page manifesto called "My Twisted World" added greater depth to saga surrounding suspect Elliot Rodger.

Also, new information about the attack came to light including word that the first three victims (all male) in the rampage were stabbed to death by Rodger. Then Rodger took off in his car and headed to a sorority mentioned in the manifesto as the "hottest" on campus. After no one answered the door, he shot three women nearby, killing two of them and fled in his car. Rodger next shot another student to death at a deli before driving off, ramming cars and firing at pedestrians. He was shot in the hip during two separate gun battles with police.

Deputies found three semi-automatic handguns with 400 unspent rounds in his black BMW. All were purchased legally."

It's still unknown if Rodger's fatal gunshot wound to the head was self-inflicted.

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3:28 p.m.: It's being reported that the family of Elliot Rodger, the suspect in the California mass shooting, called university police a few weeks ago after seeing YouTube videos "regarding suicide and the killing of people" posted by Rodger online.

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That tidbit came from the AP: 

Police interviewed Elliot Rodger and found him to be a "perfectly polite, kind and wonderful human," he added. Police did not find a history of guns, but did say Rodger "didn't have a lot of friends," had trouble making friends and didn't have any girlfriends.

2:04 p.m.: As the evidence mounts against shooting suspect Eliot Rodger—his car was reportedly seen at the crime scene—YouTube has removed the video in which Rodger goes on a misogynistic rant and threatens to "slaughter" people. 

The video can still be seen here. 

Meanwhile, Hunger Games assistant director Peter Rodger has reportedly confirmed (through a lawyer) that his son was the gunman.

Original Post

Authorities are pointing to a threatening YouTube video allegedly posted by a student in connection with a shooting rampage that left seven dead and several hospitalized ​near the University of California, Santa Barbara.  

Early indications point toward a Santa Barbara student named Elliot Rodger who was frustrated after being ignored by girls. Brown confirmed that a YouTube video titled “Elliot Rodger’s Retribution” had a connection to the crime. In the video, a young man in a parked car ranted about his sexual advances being rebuffed, and vowed to go to the UCSB campus on Friday night.

The shooting took place last night and has been characterized as a drive-by attack that extended over several city blocks. 

The gunman got into two gun battles with deputies during Friday night's rampage in the beachside community of Isla Vista before crashing his black BMW into a parked car, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said.

It's unclear whether the shooter died from police fire or by a self-inflicted wound.  

If true, this has echoes of the case of David Attias, a former student at UC-Santa Barbara and the son of a Hollywood director who worked on shows like Ally McBeal and The Sopranos. Attias killed four pedestrians near a student housing in complex in Isla Vista in 2001 in a driving rampage. He was declared insane at the time of the attack in 2009. 

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This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/national/2014/05/suspect-in-mass-shooting-in-california-released-threatening-youtube-video/371558/

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