A candelight vigil was held on Monday night in honor of the six students who died and the recently deceased UCSD members Ricky Ambriza and Anouchka Mihaylova.
Six people were killed and 13 others were injured and hospitalized in the mass murder rampage carried out by Elliot Rodger in Isla Vista, near UC Santa Barbara, on Friday, March 24 around 9:30 p.m.
NBC News reported that Rodger is the son of Hollywood director Peter Rodger and a student at Santa Barbara Community College. Rodger drove through the streets of Isla Vista and opened fire into a crowd of people, targeting women specifically. Three victims murdered near the Alpha Phi Sorority house were 22-year-old Katherine Breann Cooper of Chino Hills, 19-year-old Veronika Weiss of Westlake Village and 20-year-old Christopher Ross Michaels-Martinez of Los Osos.
In a YouTube video Rodger posted the day before, Rodger said that he was a 22-year-old virgin and wanted to punish women for rejecting him his whole life. He possibly suffered from a mental disorder and family members had expressed concern over other videos he had previously posted.
Prior to leaving his apartment to commit the murders in Isla Vista, Rodger stabbed and killed three of his male roommates as well. Rodger eventually crashed and was found dead later that night.
University of California President Janet Napolitano made a formal statement on May 24 about the shooting.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this tragedy,” Napolitano said. “University officials have set up a room for families who are coming to campus and are making counseling services available to any students, faculty and staff who need our support.”
The UCSD Women’s Center and student organizers hosted a candlelight vigil on Monday, May 26 at 8 p.m. in honor of the lives that were taken last Friday and the deaths of UCSD members Ricky Ambriz and Anouchka Mihaylova. Participants met in front of Geisel Library and walked to Revelle Plaza. Anyone was permitted to attend.
