[Update: Police have now confirmed a total of seven fatalities and thirteen injured and more information is coming in continuously. Check here for the latest information.]
At least one unidentified suspect traveling in a black BMW reportedly carried out multiple drive-by shootings at approximately 9:30 p.m. at I.V. Deli Mart, 7-11, and near the 6500 and 6700 blocks of Sabado Tarde Road in Isla Vista, with four possible fatalities according a Noozhawk article — although police declined to confirm the number of casualties.
According to the SB Police scanner, all suspects have been taken into custody as of 10:01 p.m., and there is at least one case of 1144, or “possible fatality.” The suspect also reportedly ran over a bicyclist on Embarcadero del Mar, north of Freebirds. Police shut down Embarcadero del Mar at two locations, near the 7-11 and where the incident involving the bicyclist happened as well as Pardall Road in front off I.V. Deli Mart, and told pedestrians to stay inside the nearest building. Police scanner and eyewitness reports also confirmed the suspect committed a hit-and-run at the 6600 block of Del Playa Road, crushing a bicyclist’s legs.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Kelly Hoover said police cannot confirm the number of casualties, but that police from all over the county are being pulled in to assist with the investigation.
“What we have going on right now is a very fluid scene. We’re not giving out any numbers right now just to make sure not to give out any facts that are not correct. What we do know is that we have multiple scenes. We have multiple people injured. Multiple people transported to the hospital. We want people to avoid the area,” Hoover said.
According to fourth-year communication major and eyewitness Tyler Jordan, the suspect was shooting out of his car, but tried to escape and was taken down by nearby Isla Vista Foot Patrol officers.
“The suspect looked like he jumped out of the car and was gunned down by IVFP,” Jordan said in an email.
Fourth-year political science major Niklas Svennefiord, who was at his house on Del Playa at the time of the incident, corroborated Jordan’s story and said that the suspect, a man in a white shirt, crashed into a nearby black jeep.
“I heard a couple gunfire shots — I thought they were fireworks — so I didn’t think about it, but I was pretty startled and then I heard a car hit into another car so I look up into my little window that’s in my shower and I see a guy try to flee and the cops shoot him,” Svennefiord said.
Brad Martin, a fourth-year anthropology major said his girlfriend was walking to his house when she was approached by the shooters.
“She is absolutely hysterical, and so she tells me that these guys pulled up and said ‘hey what’s up.’ She turned and looked and they had a gun and she wasn’t sure if it was a real gun or a fake gun or what type of gun it was,” Martin said. “She said the next second he raised it up to her face … and she turned around and started running. That’s when she heard ‘bang bang bang’ right behind her as she was running, and she could feel the wind hitting her hair from the power of the gunshot from less than five feet away from the car.”
[Correction: An earlier version of this article reported that one of the shootings occurred near the 6700 block of Sabado Tarde Road, multiple eyewitness reports confirm that this shooting took place between the 6500 and 6700 blocks of Sabado Tarde Road.]
[Correction: An earlier version of this article reported that Niklas Svennefiord witnessed a shooting from his house on Sabado Tarde, Svennefiord does not reside at a house on Sabado Tarde and actually witnessed it from his true residence on Del Playa Drive.]
Photos by Daniel Slovinsky & Robert Johnson / Daily Nexus
Video posted Friday SBCC student Elliot Rodger, a person purportedly related to the recent Isla Vista shootings.
Jimmy Chang, Patrick Kulp, Peter Mounteer, Aditya Tadanki, Daniel Slovinsky, and Marissa Wenzke contributed to this article.
This is a Daily Nexus online exclusive.
A large repository of information and witness accounts are on the /r/UCSantabarbara thread here: http://www.reddit.com/r/UCSantaBarbara/comments/26css4/multiple_gunshots_in_front_of_iv_deli/
Great work!!!!!! Fantastic news reporting.
You really put the youtube video online Daily Nexus? WTF is wrong with you all? Whether or not the person in the video is a shooter, the person should remain as anonymous as possible, denying him the attention he obviously wants. More importantly however, by giving people like this attention you can only encourage this type of behavior!!! Why do you think coverage of suicides is very limited! Read for yourself… http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1124845/ I am ashamed that this newspaper can be so irresponsible! For the record, yes, the Nexus has the right to publish information (which I completely stand behind) and… Read more »
SHUT UP Carlos!
Stop bitching and go pray or something. Yes the video probably brings him attention but it brings to light motive for this fucking disgusting event.
Seriously, fuck off!
Agreed Carlos. Don’t mind the mindless remarks.
I agree with Carlos. The media is sensationalizing everything, as usual. And whether this fellow is the shooter or not, he has now succeeded in getting the attention he so desperately craves. Except not in a “distributing this video will get him some help” way, but rather, “any troubled individual who wants to get attention can make a video and BAM instant fame!” way. Very, very sad. That said, my heart goes out to all those who have been affected by this tragedy, regardless of whether Elliot was involved or not.
SHUT UP Carlos!
Stop bitching and go pray or something. Yes the video probably brings him attention but it brings to light motive for this fucking disgusting event.
Seriously, fuck off!
@Carlos, you are like those mofos that’s against death penalty…you fuckers piss me off just as much as this fucking shooter
Elliot Rodger lately took to Internet forums such as Bodybuilding.com’s “misc” section to convey his disgust with men he finds to be inferior to him, being out in public with beautiful women, while he’s all alone. He describes this as unfair and clearly can’t wrap his head around how he is a 22 year old kissless virgin, although he has class, sophistication, money, and good looks.
Eventually this drove him mad, and motivated this Fridays murder spree. It’s a very sad story.
I think sharing this video is important. People need to see the resentment that fuels rapists and murderers, and the narcissism. I have read comments like these from men online, and the truth is, they can’t get a date because they are INSANE. The truth is that people are attracted to fun, happy, easy-going people, and body type is not the most important factor. Being pleasant to be around is the barest minimum of even getting to know a girl. And the hatred and resentment from these men starts oozing out in casual conversation. This is not the first time… Read more »
Who did he rape? Are you some kind of Newscorp shill?
If more students carried guns, then Eliot Rodgers would have only shot maybe one or two, before being neutralized.
So at least four innocent people would be alive, and maybe a bicyclist legs would not be crushed.
Cowards and bullies like Eliot Rodgers go after the defenseless.
Laws do not stop criminals.
Agreed. BUT…you live in a state run by Democrats and they do not support the 2nd amendment. I have guns. That crap wouldn’t have escalated here in the South.
Yes, because all we need is a bunch of college kids who are heavily drinking on a Friday evening to be carrying a fucking firearm.
my thoughts exactly, daniel.
So, you would rather have a bunch of college kids heavily drinking on a Friday evening walking around defenseless so they’re an easy target of a psycho killer. Ok. I see where you’re coming from. Other states actuually respect the Constitution and have bona fide carry conceal permits. They also have drunk college kids. And guess what? They have less crime.
Proof please
Scott Vines wrote: ‘So, you would rather have a bunch of college kids heavily drinking on a Friday evening walking around defenseless so they’re an easy target of a psycho killer’ Scott has me wrong. I would rather not have a bunch of drinking college kids heavily armed with fire arms running around looking for a reason to shot the place up. Don’t forget that Elliot Rodger was a law abiding citizen until he went postal. . He thought he needed firearms to keep him safe in IV. Would anyone feel safe if in another riot like last month in… Read more »
Daily Nexus, please remove that video of the shooter. It’s incredibly triggering and inappropriate at the moment. If you don’t remove it, at least attach a trigger warning.
This comment is incredibly triggering. Please post a warning that you will be taking valuable social justice tools out of context to draw attention to yourself.
Grow up. How is he trying to draw attention to himself on a silly, school-oriented website? Also, his comment isn’t even triggering.
Sorry this comment is triggering me too. Please be careful what you say and provide a warning before making potentially triggering posts. You never know what will trigger someone’s PLMDST.
Are you really arguing about triggering right now? RIGHT NOW!? The trauma is still happening right now. You know what actually was triggering? The actual trigger on the actual gun that this guy used! If someone is worried about being further traumatized, they probably aren’t going to be on a news site reading about this right now. Let’s use common sense!
I’m sorry, you’re right. This is not the right time. The original comment was extremely inappropriate but my response only made it worse.
It’s an emotional time. Understandable.
How the hell is it inappropriate? It’s an article about a mass shooting for god’s sake. What did you think it was going to be?!?! If you’re triggered by gun violence, you shouldn’t be following this story AT ALL.
Did I say that I was triggered by gun violence? No. I wasn’t complaining about the article itself, rather the link to the video that featured the assailant as a thumb nail. Please learn how to read critically.
Being uncomfortable is not the same thing as PTSD. Have some fucking respect for the people you’re pretending to look out for.
It sounds like his parents had there statement pre-arranged. As though their call to police was planned to take the heat of them. From what I’ve seen on the Treatment Advocacy Center, TAC encourages parents to provoke their children that they want to control with meads, in to violence. Then call the police saying that they are scared of their child and have police take them to a psych word instead of jail. Sounds like maybe the parents may have done too good of a job pissing off their son. Now the parents say they want to help make sure… Read more »
Oh I did not realize Elliot Rodger was on meads. Maybe that was the crutch of what he was so pissed off about…. You know expecting meads to be a cure all and finding them disabling and addicting. Making him a social outcast. By the way some meads have black box warnings stating that the med will make you suicidal and homicidal. This should be no surprise that he went postal. Prescribing him meads was a tragedy waiting to happen. IMH is parents should be healed responsible if they had encouraged him in to treatments. It is the reporters who… Read more »
He was prescribed Risperidone (an antipsychotic) but refused to take them. Maybe if he had actually taken his medication this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.