2014 Isla Vista attacks

On the evening of May 23, 2014, a series of attacks occurred in Isla Vista, California, near the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Elliot Rodger, identified by police as the perpetrator, killed six people and injured fourteen others through stabbing, gunfire, and vehicle ramming before fatally shooting himself. Authorities and commentators, including the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism at the Hague and the U.S. Secret Service, characterized the attacks as motivated by misogyny.

Rodger first stabbed to death his two roommates, Weihan "David" Wang and Cheng Yuan "James" Hong, and their friend George Chen, ambushing each as they separately arrived at his apartment. He then uploaded a video titled "Elliot Rodger's Retribution" to YouTube outlining his grievances and plans, and emailed a 137-page autobiographical document, later called his manifesto, to dozens of people including his parents and therapists.

Rodger drove to the Alpha Phi sorority house but failed to gain entry. He then shot three women walking nearby, killing Veronika Weiss and Katherine "Katie" Cooper and wounding a third. He drove to a nearby delicatessen and fatally shot Christopher "Chris" Michaels-Martinez. Rodger continued driving through Isla Vista, shooting at pedestrians and striking others with his car, and exchanged gunfire with sheriff's deputies twice, sustaining a gunshot wound to his hip during the second exchange. His car eventually crashed into a parked vehicle; he was found dead inside from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. An autopsy concluded his death was a suicide and found drugs in his body.

All six people killed were UCSB students. Police recovered three semi-automatic pistols, more than 500 rounds of ammunition, and the knives used in the stabbings from Rodger's vehicle and apartment. A search of his apartment also found bloodied clothing, journals describing his frustrations, and evidence he had rehearsed stabbing motions on his own bedding.

The attacks prompted large memorial gatherings in Isla Vista and at UCSB, drawing thousands of attendees. They also intensified public debate over gun control and mental health policy; California subsequently enacted the state's first "red flag" law, allowing family members or law enforcement to petition courts to remove firearms from individuals deemed a threat. Sheriff Bill Brown and California legislators examined the adequacy of a prior welfare check conducted on Rodger, and the FBI investigated the Sheriff's Office's handling of the case; the Sheriff's Office later concluded its deputies had acted in accordance with policy and law.

Multiple wrongful death and civil lawsuits followed, filed by relatives of stabbing victims, Cooper's parents, and a cyclist injured and mistakenly handcuffed by police during the incident, against parties including Santa Barbara County, the Sheriff's Department, UCSB, Rodger's parents, and Rodger's apartment complex. Some claims were dismissed by courts, while a lawsuit involving the stabbing victims' families was reported to have settled for $20 million shortly before trial in 2017.