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California gunman who killed six was director's son

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UC Santa Barbara is GREAT so is Goleta and Isla Vista, the chances of this kind of violence are actually quite low! Now, go to down town LA, San Diego, Las Vegas, anywhere in Chicago, New Jersey, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and then this kind of violence is just another daily event but so far, KNOCK ON WOOD, not in good old Santa Barbara, it is SAFER THAN TOKYO!! I know both places and in UCSB it is more likely to be way too drunk or stoned out of your brains and FALL OFF THE CLIFFS down on to the rocks, into the Pacific Ocean than to have some idiot crazy fool like this dork who shot up and killed and stabbed innocent others.

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Food for thought: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/no-good-option-parents-called-police-on-mentally-ill-son-but-he-got-prison-not-help/2014/05/28/d15e6fba-e6a7-11e3-a86b-362fd5443d19_story.html?hpid=z4

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gun control, sure, might help.. but what we need more, is to fix whatever the mental problems flying around all over the world.

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Thank you srozells. I am sorry for your friend. I share your grief.

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This incident is irrefutable proof that America with its messed up gun laws is a broken state. Anyone who would deny that is simply exposing their inability to think logically, as anyone with half a brain can see the inanity for what it is.

You do realize that he killed 3 with his guns, and killed 3 with his knife and tried to kill more with his car. He talked in his manifesto about wanting to do more and killing and cutting people's heads off. So there were a lot of pent up emotional issues with this guy. Gun control is the least of this kids issues that we need to look at.

Also, in his killing spree, he killed 3 Asian males (three with kinves) and shot 3 girls. In the media in the USA, they are really plahing to the ratings on brining up the issue of the 3 white girls killed with the guns, but noting is really being said about the 3 asian males killed by the knives. Once again, the media is going to do as much as it can to keep this in the news for ratings.

Tragedy all around for those 7 who were killed. They did nothing wrong. Gun control was not an issue here. If he would have not had the guns, then 4 would have died. This is a mental health issue that really needs to be looked at.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

This incident is irrefutable proof that America with its messed up gun laws is a broken state. Anyone who would deny that is simply exposing their inability to think logically, as anyone with half a brain can see the inanity for what it is.

I feel sorry for those too stupid to see just how ridiculous America's gun laws (or rather lack thereof) are.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The deliberate ignorance on this issue from the anti-gun crowd never ceases to amaze me. No matter how many times posters such as John Galt bring facts to the debate, no matter how many times I post about my own experience of using a gun in self-defense, or post about the tens of thousands of women in the U.S. who arm themselves against everything from rapists to estranged ex-husbands, nothing ever sinks in. What, FBI stats aren't good enough for you? Testimony from a domestic violence counselor isn't good enough for you? Apparently not, because the anti-gun crowd continues to post vapid talking points such as this:

Only a true nutter 'needs' a gun to protect themselves while denying that it's to protect themselves from other people with guns.

Until then, take a minute to think about the utter lunacy of the fact that people like yourself think you need a gun to defend yourself against -- (sound of gong) -- a gun!!

Smithinjapan, how many times have you read about my experience? The man who attacked me with deadly force in that grocery store parking lot didn't have a gun. He had his size and strength, and a strap around my neck. Every day, at least three women are killed in the U.S. by their husbands or boyfriends. The majority of those deaths are from beatings. Your belief, as stated above, has been proven false time and time again. So why do you continue to cling to it?

And these:

You just have to shake your head at the gun crazies and their nonsense. The claim that these mass-shootings are mostly "mental-health issues" is utter BS.

It's purely a mental health issue? So while the US has an epidemic of untreated psychopaths, the present situation of being knee-deep in easy to procure firearms isn't a problem?

"Reform the mental health industry." Rubbish. This guy would in no way have been able to get a gun permit of any kind in Japan if he was even suspected of having mental health issues. Yes, I blame the NRA and the vociferous gun owners for this latest mass murder. If I US had strict gun control law is depressed and bitter young man would not have been able to get those guns.

This latest psychopath stabbed three people and ran down another with his car. His original plan was to run over people with his dad's car. Somehow, the anti-gun posters insist this is all the NRA's fault and not a mental health issue. No, really!

And you know what? California has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. Including the magazine capacity restrictions favored by so many anti-gun zealots. You know what else? Firearms aren't as easy to procure as they were when I was a kid. It's just another myth from the hoplophobes.

So keep obsessing about the NRA (and the Kock brothers, while you're at it) and refuse to address substantive issues like mental health care, and you'll continue to be part of the problem.

And this:

Reading the comments from those who seem to favour every person in the USA being allowed to have a gun,

Where are these comments? Because nobody has posted in favor of every person in the USA being allowed to have a gun. Have fun playing with your strawman all by yourself.

And this:

Japan, the UK, Australia, NZ, Canada etc have plenty of mental-health issues - but mass-shootings are extremely rare.

Are you so obtuse that you can't see the cultural differences between the U.S. and these other countries? And I'm not talking about the "gun culture", just the "people and historic culture". Not to mention the logistic differences. Of the countries you mentioned, only Canada isn't an island. And none of the countries you listed share a porous border with a third-world country that is essentially run by drug cartels. Factor in the abundance of machine shops, the advancement of 3D printers, and the sheer size of the country, and only a person completely incapable of deductive reasoning wouldn't be able to see that having similar gun restrictions would be impossible to enforce.

And this:

What's the purpose of military-grade sub or fully automatic machine guns and even rocket launchers, which kids have taken to school and shot other kids with in the US?

Kids have taken rocket launchers to school and shot other kids with them? I must not have watched the news that day. Hey smithinjapan, hyperbole much?

And this:

If I ever hear a gun supporter say that he would be OK with knives or cars protecting kids in schools, then I'll believe that he thinks they are the same.

Oh look, another strawman. At least it's a new one this time.

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smithjapan;

" And here we are again -- the guy who committed a gun massacre "would have done it anyway if he didn't have the arsenal of a small army" argument. "

Well, you don´t like it, but that argument is true. And it stays true, regardless how often you rattle down your talking points. One issue that always gets drowned in the predictable pro and contra gun law hick-hack by the USers is how to deal with mentally problems. Was he simply prescribed psycho-drugs to deal with his Aspergers Syndrome? That would not surprise me.

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It obviously would have changed a lot, actually, since he sprayed gunfire from his car. Or are you suggesting he could have done the same with water noodles? (and by they way, water noodles are not food!).

So what you are saying is this young man that had been planning this attack since 2012 would not have been able to draft a different plan of attack? Like parking his car and walking down the street with a knife concealed or blunt object like a hammer and then randomly stabbing/hitting people from behind specifically in the head or throat? Or maybe he would just used the vehicle itself to run people over like David Attias did back in 2001. As for the water noodles, those are called pool noodles where I'm from and water noodles are used to describe things like cup of noodles and ramen noodles.

You guys always give me a good chuckle, until the next US gun massacre when I have to marvel at the stupidity. Okay, so let's ban knives and cars, shall we? How are you going to get to work? How are you going to cut your vegetables or meat? You see, those other things that can sometimes be wrongly used as tools to inflict injury and even death serve purposes intended to do otherwise.

Oh that is easy you're going to get to work using public transportation like trains and or buses, you don't need to privately own a car Smith, if you took all the money people spent on new and used cars, insurance, gasoline, maintenance, accessories, etc and made that an annual tax used to pay for public transportation you would have a pretty extensive public transportation system that would be able to get you where you wanted to be at in a reasonable amount of time while at the same time greatly reducing deaths and injuries and on top of that would greatly reduce pollution.

How are you going to cut your vegetables and or meat? Easy, you can use either plastic knives and forks which can cut your food just fine, especially steak, while at the same time greatly reducing the number of deaths and injuries caused by metal knives and forks. Another system we could use is that only butchers and food companies would be allowed to own metal knives and food that needed to be cut could either be cut by the butcher or the food company that makes and sells the product could pre-cut the food and place it in a package and sell directly in the grocery pre-cut, would it cost a few cents or a buck or two more? Sure but how how much do you value your ability to cut your own food over saving someones life? What ever fruit and vegetables you couldn't cut you could probably eat whole, not all at once of course, and what ever fruit and vegetables you couldn't cut I'm sure you could live the rest of your life without ever having to eat it again and still be healthy, that is especially true with meat. You can become a vegetarian, there is no need for humans to eat meat, it is just a luxury food.

Yep. It's the byproduct of a country with such easy access to so many guns. People will continue to get killed in mass shootings and that's just the way it is.

You really honestly believe that massacres would end if they didn't have a gun don't you?

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I wonder if this is a Stage Flag for gun control or if he was taking psychotropic drugs.

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WIlliB: But he killed 3 of the victims with a knife, and 1 with a car. So where is the rant to ban knifes and cars?

If I ever hear a gun supporter say that he would be OK with knives or cars protecting kids in schools, then I'll believe that he thinks they are the same. But they never say that. It's always a gun they want while at the same time they try to convince us that the device of choice for killers is irrelevant.

Noliving: Lets be really honest here these massacres are going to continue to happen

Yep. It's the byproduct of a country with such easy access to so many guns. People will continue to get killed in mass shootings and that's just the way it is.

If the NRA were honest, that would be their motto.

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WilliB: "You don´t even read what critics write, you just rattle off your talking point."

There should be zero critics against gun control, bottom line. It's not at all necessary to read, which I did by the way, comments like, "should we ban cars and knives" to realize the stupidity of trying to justify the ease at which any mentally stable or unstable person in the US can get them as their "GOD GIVEN RIGHT!"

"you would find out that his original plan was to go home, killi his little brother and his mother with a hammer, take his dads Mercedes SUV and then use it to run over as many people as possible. Not a word about a gun in his original phantasy!"

And once again, despite your original line in this comment you throw out red herrings. So now, please tell me about the hammer he killed people with from his car window. I can tell you the people he was able to kill using a gun from his car window. Better yet, why do US laws allow such people such easy access to the tools he used to do what he did. Come on, bud, show me how the people he shot from his car would have died if he did not have a gun. But hey, let's look at the ease from news articles:

"The second gun — Rodger was found with three in all on Friday night, along with more than 40 magazines of ammunition — was bought in the spring of last year."

Thank you, NRA, for making it impossible for a person with mental problems to be disallowed guns! Did you know, WilliB, that sales of guns have INCREASED after this incident?? The people who think guns don't kill people are far more mentally unstable than this moron, with his three guns and 40 magazines he probably picked up at Wallmart, are.

"Yet, you and some others simply take the occasion to go and rattle off your boring party-political talking points."

Seems interesting enough for you to comment, obviously.

"This nutcase would have have committed mass murder in any case, regardless if guns were available to him or not. So your talking points are as irrelevant as they can be."

And here we are again -- the guy who committed a gun massacre "would have done it anyway if he didn't have the arsenal of a small army" argument. Again, it'll take one of your own gunned down for you to ask why and not be willing to understand the answer.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

smithjapan:

" Until then, take a minute to think about the utter lunacy of the fact that people like yourself think you need a gun to defend yourself against -- (sound of gong) -- a gun!! "

I don´t have a gun, I don´t want one, and I am not necessarily against gun control. You are demonstrating what I find so fr%$§"§g annoying about the anti-gun fanatics. You don´t even read what critics write, you just rattle off your talking point.

In this particular case, if you have the stomach to read his manifesto which is on-line (not that I recommend it), you would find out that his original plan was to go home, killi his little brother and his mother with a hammer, take his dads Mercedes SUV and then use it to run over as many people as possible. Not a word about a gun in his original phantasy!

Yet, you and some others simply take the occasion to go and rattle off your boring party-political talking points. This nutcase would have have committed mass murder in any case, regardless if guns were available to him or not. So your talking points are as irrelevant as they can be.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

bass4funk: " As mental the guy was, he was on a mission do some serious damage and blocking his access to guns wouldn't have changed one iota,"

It obviously would have changed a lot, actually, since he sprayed gunfire from his car. Or are you suggesting he could have done the same with water noodles? (and by they way, water noodles are not food!).

WilliB: "With a Q-tip? Hardly. But he killed 3 of the victims with a knife, and 1 with a car. So where is the rant to ban knifes and cars? By the way, I am not dogmatically against gun control; I just find the fixation on this single point seriously simplistic and misguided."

You guys always give me a good chuckle, until the next US gun massacre when I have to marvel at the stupidity. Okay, so let's ban knives and cars, shall we? How are you going to get to work? How are you going to cut your vegetables or meat? You see, those other things that can sometimes be wrongly used as tools to inflict injury and even death serve purposes intended to do otherwise. Tell me, what is the purpose of a handgun besides to shoot someone? Don't tell me it's to fight the red-coats in some kind of militia, or to go hunting for deer. What's the purpose of military-grade sub or fully automatic machine guns and even rocket launchers, which kids have taken to school and shot other kids with in the US?

So, Willi, the day you start cutting your steak with a glock intended for the purpose of cutting steak, come on back and talk about banning everyday utensils or modes of transportation. Until then, take a minute to think about the utter lunacy of the fact that people like yourself think you need a gun to defend yourself against -- (sound of gong) -- a gun!!

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Kabukilover thank you. my sentiments exactly. this was a friend`s son. i am grieving for her and all the families involved. :(

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Yes, and they had no ability to discern whether the man owned guns. Gun ownership records are controlled so tightly in the US that even police do not have access to them unless they are investigating a particular gun. Irony: It is easier for citizenry to access weapons than for the police to access the records.

From my understanding of California laws law enforcement has the right to check the registry of hand guns to see if the person they are investigating has a firearm. So yes law enforcement does actually have the ability to discern whether the man owned a firearm or not.

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smithjapan:

" Ah, but the gun-nutters will come on here and suggest that he could have done the same thing with a Q-tip so long as he had the intention, "

With a Q-tip? Hardly. But he killed 3 of the victims with a knife, and 1 with a car. So where is the rant to ban knifes and cars? By the way, I am not dogmatically against gun control; I just find the fixation on this single point seriously simplistic and misguided.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Stop side-stepping the issue and admit this guy could not possibly have done as much damage as he did if he did not have guns

And would that placate you if the only deaths were the ones that were stabbed to death? Lets be really honest here these massacres are going to continue to happen regardless if firearms were completely illegal in every respect. These people are not deterred if they don't have a firearm. So lets say they use knives or any blunt object and instead of killing 5+ plus people they kill 2-3+ plus people every incident and lets say these incidents occur at the same frequency.

Would that reduce death toll placate you Smith?

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

As much as I dislike wading into the guns debate, as opinions entrenched will not be swayed, I'll only ask this; what saith the law? Clearly,murder by any means is forbidden. The legal possession of the implement used, in this case: ,knife, handgun, and automobile, is secondary to the intent to kill, which had already been plainly stated by the perpetrator. The fact that multiple types of weapons were used clearly shows that had any one of them not beem available to him, another would likely have been substituted, but would not have deterred him from committing his crimes. Arguing about knives,guns, or cars is irrelevant.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

The US NRA needs to be labeled as a terrorist organization.......... how many mass killings with guns does the US need to realize an obvious problem...............apparently many many MANY more yet to come!!

Before any of you guns guns guns folks start up, remember this gunman TERRORIZED people, killed them, hence terrorist!

I am anti guns, I grew up around rifles used for hunting, target shooting but thank GOODNESS hand guns are damned near impossible to get your hands on!!

Come USA how about some common sense wrt guns..............it aint that hard, & clearly is direly needed!!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

It's a kind of Mutually Assured Destruction; at any point people can suddenly lose it and when they do in America they already had access to firearms resulting in these tragedies. It only stops when America stands up to the NRA and it doesn't look like that will ever happen. I'm a Canadian and I can honestly say I do not understand America when it comes to this level of violence. Allowing it to continue makes no sense

0 ( +0 / -0 )

" And since the ideal of zero murders is completely unrealistic, the usual half-wits will bring up the usual objections about the dangers of knives and cars."

I absolutely support the ideal of zero murders. Now, if you review the statistics of even countries where firearms are practically zero, you'll find none with a zero murder rate. If you honestly look at murder statistics in the US(for the moment, exclude suicides) you would find proportionally more non-firearm murders in US than in disarmed countries such as Japan. Further, even half-wits recognize than the majority of firearm murders are committed by those not permitted to possess such firearms. Next, honestly review the statistics of private citizens who successfully protect themselves, family members, and others with their legally authorized firearms. The picture painted by the FBI data doesn't jive with the slanted, propogandized depictions of the dimwit anti-gun fokks .

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@luca

Nutter plus knife equals four or five dead.

Nutter plus gun equals twenty or thirty dead.

Nutter plus missiles (Kim Jong-Un) equals thousands dead.

You genuinely don't see the connection?

I totally understand the odds, my beef is just that, No matter what, if there's a will, there's a way. That's all I'm saying.

@Yabits

The real "mental health issues" are with a society that enables a man who can't get any woman to date him to be able to obtain lethal firepower to take out his rage and frustration.

That is complete BS! Look what just happened in Belgium and they have strict gun laws! Come on, everything was premeditated! As mental the guy was, he was on a mission do some serious damage and blocking his access to guns wouldn't have changed one iota, the guy would have tried to have devised a different plan which is NOT that hard to do.

It's purely a mental health issue? So while the US has an epidemic of untreated psychopaths, the present situation of being knee-deep in easy to procure firearms isn't a problem?

One thing that is seriously lacking is we don't have any real serious mental care facilities or Looney bins if you want to be brutally honest. We have enough prisons, but no where to stick these sick moon bats. That is the real underlining crux of the problem.

-3 ( +2 / -5 )

bass4funk: "I get sick and tired of people blaming the guns"

Easy solution to that -- make it so that people don't have access to them. The day you see people stop rightfully blaming guns as the tools that allow for so much more death and destruction in these kind of massacres is the day the US has ceased to exist. Stop side-stepping the issue and admit this guy could not possibly have done as much damage as he did if he did not have guns. The REAL mental health issue is that the second amendment continues to exist.

Only a true nutter 'needs' a gun to protect themselves while denying that it's to protect themselves from other people with guns.

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Don't care about what any of you think about his mental health. He deserves the death penalty and be removed from this planet.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

This guy would in no way have been able to get a gun permit of any kind in Japan if he was even suspected of having mental health issues.

Agreed. The real "mental health issues" are with a society that enables a man who can't get any woman to date him to be able to obtain lethal firepower to take out his rage and frustration.

And since the ideal of zero murders is completely unrealistic, the usual half-wits will bring up the usual objections about the dangers of knives and cars. Freedom gets tossed out the window when a person feels forced to arm themselves for protection against lunatics who'll shoot you for texting in a movie theater, or for any number of reasons their paranoid minds construe. This is a society being pushed to the brink of insanity by the lovers of guns.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Sounds like the cops covering their butts again.

And they'd better do that. Look, the youth was psychopath and criminal, but wait in 2 minutes, his parents will sue the cops for his death and for not preventing him to go bonkers... The authorities had not yet confirmed the identities of the shooter that already the family's lawyer was reading the disclaimer saying the parents had taken the guy to mental care treatments and they had warned the police about his delirium on social media.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"Well Regulated Militia" again...

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

A hedonistic, in your face culture began and a wholesome, all-American Christian culture was attacked as "outdated".

An average house cost four year's income, population was half what it is today, and those who didn't go along were dealt with pretty severely (see: women, blacks, gays, et al.). Not only is that era not comparable to today - you really don't want to go back there (unless you're a straight, white Christian male).

Welcome to the 21st century. Let's not look back; let's figure out how to deal with the problems we have now.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Reading the comments from those who seem to favour every person in the USA being allowed to have a gun, I doubt the carnage in that country will ever stop. If people who want to buy a gun were properly screened - as they are Japan - the killings wouldn't stop, but they would certainly be greatly reduced. Also, if mental health was adequately funded, people like this unfortunate young man might have a better chance of dealing with life's challenges.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

" if that means taking Hand guns and semi automatic rifles away from totally wholesome gun owners, so be it."

And there you have the real agenda of the anti-gun kooks.

-2 ( +5 / -7 )

The Second Amendment in fact cancels itself out because today the last thing the US needs is a plethora of militias.

No it does not. An individual right granted for a collective purpose does not make it a collective right. Militia or no, the right to bear arms is still an individual right as it was worded. In fact there are still plenty of civilian militia in the US.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

"Reform the mental health industry." Rubbish. This guy would in no way have been able to get a gun permit of any kind in Japan if he was even suspected of having mental health issues. Yes, I blame the NRA and the vociferous gun owners for this latest mass murder. If I US had strict gun control law is depressed and bitter young man would not have been able to get those guns.

As for the Second Amendment, is a zombie law. The right to bear arms is predicated on the need for a well armed militia. We have had no need for militias for well over a century or more. The Second Amendment in fact cancels itself out because today the last thing the US needs is a plethora of militias. It needs to be amended, if that means taking Hand guns and semi automatic rifles away from totally wholesome gun owners, so be it.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

It's purely a mental health issue? So while the US has an epidemic of untreated psychopaths, the present situation of being knee-deep in easy to procure firearms isn't a problem?

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Three men were stabbed besides those who had been shot. Do you want to promote knife control as well as gun control?

There have always been guns in the U.S. But you NEVER used to see these rampages before by angry people. I grew up in the fifties and watched shows like Ozzie and Harriet or Leave it to Beaver. A much more wholesome era. Then the sixties came. Free love, acid trips, burning bras, if it feels good, do it. A hedonistic, in your face culture began and a wholesome, all-American Christian culture was attacked as "outdated".

There are much more complex issues at play than there were sixty years ago: the degeneration of the family unit, a self absorbed "me" culture, EXTREME violence on TV and video games that children are exposed to at a very young age and I believe become desensitized to.

There is something very wrong with our world and guns can be banned but then the violence will be by knives, axes, baseball bats, whatever the angry person can lay ahold of. Guns are not the issue, our culture is the issue. We have become a sick troubled society as a whole. And we are paying the piper for our degeneration.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Time for the NRA to erect more statues in front of their building to honor those who died for our right to guns.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

You just have to shake your head at the gun crazies and their nonsense. The claim that these mass-shootings are mostly "mental-health issues" is utter BS. Japan, the UK, Australia, NZ, Canada etc have plenty of mental-health issues - but mass-shootings are extremely rare. The simple reason : guns are highly restricted. As they are in most of the worlds civilised nations.

We are blessed to live in a place without guns and gun-crazies here.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

If there was a paper trail on his dangerous intentions (which he would have had, had the parents done just a little bit more, or the police had gone just a little further), then he never would have passed the background check to purchase a gun.

Ha ha! Keep telling yourself this - it will save you the effort of actually having to do anything. How would he not have been unable to purchase a gun? - One must be certified insane to be denied this "right." Do you expect that society would do this to a 22-year old - or that the gun lobby would allow such aggressive determination? (Note: Cliven Bundy and his supporters.)

And this "paper trail" - suppose an individual is okay enough to purchase a gun but his condition deteriorates. There is no way under current conditions for anyone - not the family, not the police, not mental health professionals - to ascertain gun ownership. Wanna change that? - Good luck! The NRA will come down on you like a ton of bricks.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

@bass

Nutter plus knife equals four or five dead.

Nutter plus gun equals twenty or thirty dead.

Nutter plus missiles (Kim Jong-Un) equals thousands dead.

You genuinely don't see the connection?

1 ( +4 / -3 )

OldHawk, yes, I agree with the spirit of your post.

Of course, the MSM are not interested in reporting the full details, but only what promotes their agenda. As other more balanced sources are reporting, the first three fatal victims were stabbed, others were shot in Chicago-styled drive-bys, and the sorority girls were victimized by the BMW. The common link is the wacko whom the the family had reported and authorities had THREE times interviewed. The crimes themselves are the topic as well as the perpetrator's previously documented behavior.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Ah, but the gun-nutters will come on here and suggest that he could have done the same thing with a Q-tip so long as he had the intention, conveniently side-stepping the fact that the mentally disturbed kid had easy access to guns. Listening to the one of the kids' dad's speech was heart wrenching, and I am so very thankful to be living in a nation that does not adhere to the insanity of gun culture like in the US.

Now see there you go again and try to make this a gun issue when although the kid had an access to guns, he was completely insane and as I said hundreds of times, I lived for 20 years of my life in Europe, the rest in the states and I never had a problem in the states, never and I have quite a few guns. I was attacked and almost stabbed, I get sick and tired of people blaming the guns, when the problem is the actual person that perpetrated this heinous crime. You can make anything a weapon if you don't have or can't get any access to a firearm if you happen to be a certifiable loon.

That's an unusually chipper way of viewing it when someone has just killed six people.

Sorry, I feel bad for the victims, NOT for this spoiled, delusional creep. He did to himself a big favor for everyone else.

-7 ( +2 / -9 )

John Galt:

Would you also like to place blame on the black BMW as well?

After all, he used the BMW to kill the cyclist. And he stabbed his roommates to death. So blaming the knife lobby and the automotive industry (hello, Ralph Nader?) should make sense to some people.

(Just for the record, I don't think dangerously crazy people should have access to cars either. The roads are dangerous enough already, thanks to unskilled drivers, cellphones, alcohol, and drugs.)

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

" He was "mentally disturbed" and still was able to get his hands on a gun or three and start shooting people. How many "mentally disturbed" people are able to get their hands on guns if gun control is really working? OOPS."

Yes, and convicted felons also easily get guns despite laws preventing them from doing so.

His family members had contacted authories about his yoohootoob videos, but you see how effective that was. Would you also like to place blame on the black BMW as well?

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Kabukilover:

The Second Amendment strikes again. This was a mentally disturbed kid. He should not have had access to guns. But thanks to the NRA and assorted gun scum who fight down even the most mild gun control laws horrors like this happen and will continue to happen.

Neither the 2nd Amendment nor the NRA have anything to do with mentally disturbed people being able to buy guns.

This guy, like the guy from "the Giffords shooting", exhibited dangerous mental defects long before he snapped completely. The difference is that this guy actually had professional mental health care. But, just as I said after the Tuscon shooting, mental health professionals cannot diagnose someone as a danger to themselves and others until they hurt someone. If there was a paper trail on his dangerous intentions (which he would have had, had the parents done just a little bit more, or the police had gone just a little further), then he never would have passed the background check to purchase a gun.

Reform the mental health industry - not the group that represents people who want to defend themselves from criminals - and this sort of tragedy may never happen again.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Knives 3 vs Guns 3

Oh, Guns 4 if you count the perp.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

In another story on this event, the Santa Barbara police were informed of this guy, and did go investigate....

Yes, and they had no ability to discern whether the man owned guns. Gun ownership records are controlled so tightly in the US that even police do not have access to them unless they are investigating a particular gun. Irony: It is easier for citizenry to access weapons than for the police to access the records.

But suggest loosening controls to allow competent authorities access to these records and the gun lobby will assert that this is a step towards confiscation - that when authorities know you have a gun, they will come for you and your guns - probably in black helicopters, or maybe with drones.

Thus America's current predicament: unarmed people are treated by police as as potential armed threats, while mentally disturbed people can play nice during an interview and hide their arms for later mayhem.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Alphaape: "Yes some do kill with guns, but some kill without them."

So, explain how he could have done all that he did from the windows of his car without guns. Explain why he had guns to begin with, and it will all point back to the fact that it's far too easy to get them in US.

"Europe likes to have bans on weapons in their countries, but have no problems selling them to other places."

Red herring. Japan now also wants to export weapons to other nations, but you won't see domestic massacres involving guns on the rise, will you?

"This guy followed the rules and got guns legally. He had mental issues and that is the bottom line."

The bottom line is that he was allowed to have the guns legally in the first place, despite mental problems. The fact that you and many others who blindly adhere to the ridiculous 2nd Amendment shows that he is not at all alone with mental problems, but is safely at home amongst a myriad of others with them. It won't be until your own lose their lives that you'll see this, as many Americans realize far too late. I pity your nation.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

No, it isn't. It's inevitable that this kind of thing does happen in a country awash with guns and where any leader who attempts to put forward sensible measures to restrict gun ownership is shouted down by the less sensible and an odious gun lobby.

The two weapons he used, a Glock and Sig Saure are European made weapons, or in other words, Europe likes to have bans on weapons in their countries, but have no problems selling them to other places.

In another story on this event, the Santa Barbara police were informed of this guy, and did go investigate, but as the police said, he seemed like a "nice boy" and didn't do any follow-up. His parents and family knew he had issues (saw a story from his English grandmother who said she thought that he had issues), but yet I want to know what was done. He had money (the car he used was a high end BMW from photos) so he obviously could afford treatment. But his family didn't react quick enough or take steps to make sure that he didn't get guns.

There are a lot of people who own guns in the USA. Not all of them go on killing sprees either. Yes some do kill with guns, but some kill without them. I could go on and on about the recent events of women killing their kids without using guns that have been in the news in the US recently.

Sad and tragic as this event was, gun confiscation would not have worked. This guy followed the rules and got guns legally. He had mental issues and that is the bottom line. Looking at his manifesto, he was going to kill either with a gun or any other object he could have got.

-8 ( +3 / -11 )

I always wonder when and where the next mass shooting in the U.S. will occur. Unfortunately, I never have to wait long to get my answer. RIP to the dead.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

“It’s unbelievable that this kind of thing can happen,”

No, it isn't. It's inevitable that this kind of thing does happen in a country awash with guns and where any leader who attempts to put forward sensible measures to restrict gun ownership is shouted down by the less sensible and an odious gun lobby.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

He was "mentally disturbed" and still was able to get his hands on a gun or three and start shooting people. How many "mentally disturbed" people are able to get their hands on guns if gun control is really working? OOPS.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Very mentally disturbed young man.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Ah, but the gun-nutters will come on here and suggest that he could have done the same thing with a Q-tip so long as he had the intention, conveniently side-stepping the fact that the mentally disturbed kid had easy access to guns. Listening to the one of the kids' dad's speech was heart wrenching, and I am so very thankful to be living in a nation that does not adhere to the insanity of gun culture like in the US.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

Oh but guns don't kill people, do they? Wake up America...it's only going to continue...so we all need guns to protect ourselves from the crazy ones with guns? What a sad state of affairs it is. The US isn't much of a role model for other countries.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

22 is not a kid. If you treat them like kids at such an age they will never grow up. And guess what sort of stuff they will do....

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The Second Amendment strikes again. This was a mentally disturbed kid. He should not have had access to guns. But thanks to the NRA and assorted gun scum who fight down even the most mild gun control laws horrors like this happen and will continue to happen.

You can be fairly sure that this kid was getting the best mental heath care that money could buy. The same money that no doubt bought he his BMW. It did not help in the end. He had the money to buy a gun and ammo. If guns were not available to him he might have used the money to buy the services of caring sex worker.

This was an intelligent kid and the sex problems are not atypical for someone his age. The torment of being unhappy in a beautiful place is not unusual either. There was likely more that tormented this guy. If only he did not have access to guns he might have gotten over whatever ailed him and the poor, innocent people he so senseless murdered in cold blood would still be alive.

7 ( +10 / -3 )

Aw come on. You can tell in about ten seconds whether a shot was self-administered or 'delivered' by the police, not that it really matters. Sounds like the cops covering their butts again.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

“It’s unbelievable that this kind of thing can happen,” he said.

This guy clearly doesn't pay attention to the news.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

The guy was a rambling wing bat. He believed that all women were scum and wanted them dead because he couldn't get a woman. That goes to show you that he was a very disturbed kid. He came from an affluent family, his dad worked on the "Hunger Games" the kid wrote a note a was angry and ranted that ugly blacks can get women, but he a beautiful mixed kid can't. Very sad for these people, my heart goes out to them, but This guy was a loon. Thank God, he ended his life. Saved tax payers a lot of money, because he would have received the death penalty anyway, California has the death penalty, it could've been more then 12 years before he would have gotten the needle. Good riddance.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

Again and again - so sad.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

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