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Elliot Rodger’s Background

Elliot Oliver Robertson Rodger was born in London, England, U.K., on July 24, 1991, to parents, filmmaker Peter Rodger and Li Chin Rodger, a Malaysian research assistant.

Later, the family grew with Elliot’s little sister, Georgia.

When Elliot was five, the Rodger family moved to the United States and settled in Los Angeles, California. Elliot’s father would later say those were the good years, those first four or five years of Elliot’s life. According to Peter, Elliot was a really adorable, cute little boy.

Then, when Elliot was 7, Peter and Chin divorced. Just a year later, Peter remarried Soumaya Akaaboune, a Moroccan actress who bore his second son. That was also the same year Elliot began his long journey of seeing therapists and receiving psychiatric treatment.

Elliot had problems, nothing that his parents worried about too much, but they tried to do their best to make things easier. Elliot wanted to be part of the cool crowd but had trouble fitting in.

So Peter and Chin moved him from school to school, trying to find a place where Elliot could succeed. Still, Elliot had very few friends growing up. He was quiet and shy. Elliot’s mother has stated her belief that her son suffered from Asperger’s syndrome, though he was never formally diagnosed.

The lonely young boy grew to be an introverted teenager. By age 13, Elliot had lost himself in the fictional cyberworld of “World of Warcraft.” He found companionship from the heroes and villains of the online fantasy game. However, in the real world, he was bullied badly.

There were incidents in his high school when food was thrown at him or he was pushed into lockers. Elliot would later write in his diary: “I was an innocent, scared little boy trapped in a jungle full of malicious predators, and I was shown no mercy.”

Elliot left two high schools before landing at the tiny 100-student Independence High. The thing is, Elliot always blamed everyone else for his problems but never saw fault in himself.

People later said that Elliot was the one who rebuffed their attempts to be friendly with him. Family friend Dale Launer said that he counseled Elliot on approaching women but that Elliot did not follow his advice.

The idea of having a girlfriend became Elliot’s obsession until the very end, but he did not get the attention of the girls. Elliot later stated in his retribution video: “I mean look at me, I’m gorgeous. But you girls don’t see it. I don’t understand why you’re so repulsed by me.”

Elliot also said that finding out about sex was one of the things that destroyed his entire life. Elliot wrote in his journal that he would always fantasize about sex but would never get it. Peter later said he tried to discuss this issue with his son but thought Elliot’s nervousness about girls was normal teenage jitters.

Nobody knew something much more sinister was going on inside Elliot’s mind.

Life After High School

By the time Elliot turned 18, the shy young boy had vanished, leaving only resentment and anger behind. As he was not able to approach girls and have normal relationships, Elliot decided it was easier to hate women altogether. His fury towards women led him to misogynistic websites where he would share his thoughts. Elliot’s life had become an erratic mixture of desire and denial. He still wanted to lose his virginity more than anything, but his acts showed his hatred for women.

In July 2013, Elliot decided to give women one last chance to help him lose his virginity before he turned 22. He attended a party but got mocked and ignored by the girls. Elliot grew angry, climbed onto a 10-foot ledge, and pretended to shoot party-goers with an imaginary gun.

He then tried to push several women off the ledge. However, a group of men intervened and pushed Elliot over instead, resulting in his ankle getting hurt. This incident was the final trigger for Elliot’s violent revenge.

Elliot Rodger’s Isla Vista Killing Spree

On May 23, 2014, Memorial Day weekend, Elliot Rodger started his rampage by stabbing three people to death at his apartment on Seville Road before posting his last YouTube video titled “The Day of Retribution.”

In the video, he complained of being rejected by women, envying sexually active men, and describing his planned attack. Elliot also emailed his 107,000-word manifesto, My Twisted World: The Story of Elliot Rodger, to 34 people.

His last words in the manifesto said: “I didn’t start this war… I wasn’t the one who struck first… But I will finish it by striking back. I will punish everyone. And it will be beautiful. Finally, at long last, I can show the world my true worth.”

Elliot then went to the Alpha Phi sorority house near the University of California, Santa Barbara, intending to shoot all occupants inside. However, when his knocking on the front door went unanswered, Elliot shot three Delta Delta Delta sorority sisters who were nearby. He then drove further into town and fired into the Isla Vista Deli Mart from inside his BMW, killing another student.

Elliot continued his rampage, shooting at several pedestrians in drive-by shootings and striking others with his car. He ultimately wounded twelve people in the phase of the rampage, six by gunshots and six with his vehicle. Finally, Elliot fled after getting into a gunfight with three Sheriff’s Deputies near Little Acorn Park.

He crashed into a bicyclist, seriously wounding him before crashing on the sidewalk. At 9:35 that evening, police found Elliot dead inside his car from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. He killed six people and wounded 13 others.

Aftermath

Elliot’s attack sparked discussion of broader issues of violence against women and misogyny. However, an online community known as the “involuntarily celibate,” or incels, who blame women for their sexual failings, fastened upon Elliot’s manifesto.

He has even been virtually canonized by some fringe communities online. It isn’t easy to understand how a person who killed six people is idolized by so many. It is common to see references to “E.R.,” as Elliot Rodger, in incel forums, and mass violence by incels is regularly referred to as “going E.R.”

Elliot’s admirers on 4chan and Reddit also celebrate “Saint Elliot Day” on May 23.

As the incel movement was initially started as a relationship support group for isolated individuals, we can only think where everything went wrong. The self-help support group morphed from offering a network of compassion to cope with loneliness to what is now a platform of hatred.