Isla Vista shooter's father: 'My son caused so much pain and suffering'

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/27/elliot-rodger-father-shooting-california

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The father of gunman who killed six people in a violent spree in Isla Vista, California, last month has spoken publicly about the shootings for the first time.

Film-maker Peter Rodger, an assistant director on the Hunger Games, said he did not believe his son to be capable of such violence.

“Every night I go to sleep, I wake up and I think of those young men and young women that have died and are injured and were terrorised when my son did that,” Rodger said in an interview with Barbara Walters on ABC News’s 20/20. “My son caused so much pain and suffering for so many families.”

His son Elliot, 22, killed six University of California students in the 23 May rampage before killing himself.

Some family members of the victims have criticized how police have handled the case, while others have become vocal advocates for gun control.

“When you go to sleep normally, you have a nightmare, you wake up and ‘oh everything’s okay,’” Rodger said. “Now, I might have a nice dream and then I wake up and slowly the truth of what happened dawns on me, and that is that my son was a mass murderer.”

The full interview airs on Friday night.