Friday, May 30, 2014

'Hell on Earth,' California killer's family says

'Hell on Earth,' California killer's family says

By Mariano Castillo, CNN
updated 3:14 PM EDT, Thu May 29, 2014
Chris Martinez, 20, was later gunned down at a deli. He dreamed of being a lawyer like his dad. Now his grieving father, Richard Martinez, has emerged as the <a href='http://www.cnn.com/2014/05/26/us/california-killing-spree-martinez/index.html'>public face of gun control advocates</a> in the aftermath of the six killings in Isla Vista.Chris Martinez, 20, was later gunned down at a deli. He dreamed of being a lawyer like his dad. Now his grieving father, Richard Martinez, has emerged as the public face of gun control advocates in the aftermath of the six killings in Isla Vista.
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Isla Vista victims
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STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Firearms shop manager recalls talking to Rodger when he bought a gun
  • NEW: "It's no different than the guy that sold him the knife that he used," manager says
  • Elliot Rodger's family released a statement Thursday
  • Rodger fatally stabbed three and shot three others Friday
(CNN) -- The killer's parents won't talk about him.
That at least is what their friend told CNN on Thursday.
Their thoughts are on the other six victims of Friday's killing spree in Santa Barbara, the friend said.
Elliot Rodger, who fatally stabbed three people and shot three others, himself was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head after crashing his black BMW.
Gun store: Shooter wasn't acting strange
Gun store: Shooter wasn't acting strange
Rodger was 'stuck in rejection denial'
"We are crying in pain for the victims and their families. It breaks our hearts on a level we didn't think possible," Rodger's family said in a statement read by a family friend on "New Day."
"The feeling of knowing that it was our son's actions that caused the tragedy can only be described as hell on Earth."
In a 137-page document, not to mention videos and musings on social media, 22-year-old Rodger hinted that years of rejection and jealousy led him to lash out against beautiful women and popular men.
Simon Astaire, the family friend, shed some light on the kind of person that Rodger was.
"As soon as you met him, he was unbearably reserved, self-contained; he seemed to merge into the walls," he said.
In one brief conversation, Rodger asked Astaire, a novelist, whether writing was a lonely experience.
Astaire described the process as "solitary," and Rodger replied with "I know what you mean" and turned away.
"He seemed the loneliest person in the world," Astaire said.
As the tragedy unfolded near the University of California, Santa Barbara campus, Rodger's parents were putting the clues together that it might be their son who was involved.
His mother received Rodger's manifesto, and after reading just four lines, she immediately went to YouTube to look at the videos her son had posted, Astaire said.
She watched the first 20 seconds of a video titled "Retribution" and then called her ex-husband. Both got on the road toward Santa Barbara as the shooting was unfolding.
The mother's fears were realized when she heard on the radio that a black BMW, like Rodger's, was involved.
"It was the longest journey of their lives and, I would suggest, everyone's nightmare," Astaire said.
Among the victims were Rodger's two roommates and a visitor, Cheng Yuan Hong, 20; George Chen, 19; and Weihan "David" Wang, 20. Each was stabbed to death.
But Rodger didn't stop there. He embarked on a shooting rampage Friday night, killing two young women: Katherine Cooper, 22, and Veronika Weiss, 19, both members of the Delta Delta Delta sorority.
He then went into a deli and killed UCSB junior Christopher Martinez, 20, who was getting a sandwich.
Martinez's father, Richard Martinez, has publicly called for stricter gun control laws.
One of the parents of a child killed in the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, wrote an open letter to Richard Martinez.
The tragedy of losing a child to gun violence has made them part of the same extended family, Mark Barden wrote.
"My heart breaks for you because I know just a little about the long road ahead of you," he wrote, encouraging Richard Martinez to continue being an advocate for gun safety regulations.
"You will find your own path down this difficult road," Barden wrote. "But know that we are here for you and all of you who have been touched by this tragedy. Together we can and will build a safer world for all our children."
The firearms shop Shooters Paradise of Oxnard sold Rodger a gun just before the killings, manager Kevin White said.
Rodger had an Isla Vista address and wasn't acting strangely when he bought the gun, White said.
White, an alum of UCSB, said he spoke briefly with Rodger about Isla Vista.
There was a 10-day waiting period -- no red flags arose in the background check -- and then Rodger picked up the gun, White said.
The manager pointed out that a gun wasn't the only weapon used in the killings.
"It happens from time to time, but what about the guy who sold him the knives or the swords that he used, or what about the guy who sold him the car that he was driving around and hit people?" White said.
"Do they feel bad, or did they know he was going to do something bad with it? I mean, we sell tools. They're items. It's no different than the guy that sold him the knife that he used," White said.
CNN's Chris Cuomo, Greg Botelho, Holly Yan, Michael Martinez and Chuck Conder contributed to this report.

Male stripper goes to nursing home, elderly resident's son goes to court

Male stripper goes to nursing home, elderly resident's son goes to court

By Steve Almasy, CNN
updated 8:10 AM EDT, Wed April 9, 2014

Nursing home hires stripper

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • A man visits his mom in a nursing home, finds a picture of her and a male stripper
  • Now there's a lawsuit seeking damages
  • Attorney for the nursing home says it was a board-approved activity
  • Lawsuit says stripper told 86-year-old to "place her hands about and upon his body"
(CNN) -- Somebody at a New York nursing home apparently thought it would be a great idea to bring in a young hard body for the elderly residents to watch dance.
In other words, a male stripper.
But after a man found a picture in his 86-year-old mother's belongings of a man wearing only "tighty whiteys" hovering very much in his mom's personal space, the lawyers got involved.
Bernice Youngblood, the wheelchair-bound resident whose son, Franklin, is suing the home on her behalf, told CNN affiliate WCBS, "I felt terrible. I was shaken and going on."
WCBS reported that the East Neck Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in West Babylon said all 16 people on a panel of residents approved the show.
"There is nothing inappropriate about it," the facility's attorney, Howard Fensterman, told reporters on Tuesday.
Fensterman, according to the WCBS report, said that Bernice Youngblood enjoyed the event and was chaperoned by her son's live-in girlfriend, who the nursing home said appears in the photo.
The family said the woman in the photo is a nursing-home staff member.
According to a lawsuit filed last month, Bernice Youngblood, who the suit says has partial dementia, was "confused and bewildered" when the stripper approached her and directed her to "place her hands about and upon his body, including his genital area."
The suit contends the home has hired male strippers on other occasions for the "perverse pleasure of the defendant's staff."
Franklin Youngblood said his mother was forced to tip the stripper with her own money, which is supposed to be locked away at the nurses' station.
"There's too much sex and craziness that's going on. Now they're bringing it to the nursing home, and it don't belong here," he told WCBS.
The suit is asking for a financial judgment of unspecified amounts from a jury at trial. It is unclear from the legal documents when the stripping incident occurred

CNA class virtual day

Beautiful weather called for a CNA field trip