California Mass Shooter Elliot Rodger Had Interest in Nazis

A California man who killed six students during a rampage near the University of California at Santa Barbara last year had an interest in Nazis and conducted Internet searches on torture devices, according to a new report released Thursday.

The report, compiled by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office, finds that investigators were unable to find a motive into Elliot Rodger’s killings last May, according to Reuters. The 22-year-old killed himself after authorities said he stabbed three men to death in his apartment and went on a shooting spree in Isla Vista, Calif., that left three dead and wounded 14 others. In a manifesto that Rodger apparently published before the killings, he griped about his failure to intimately connect with women.

Investigators noted that Rodger had a history of mental illness and peculiar interests, specifically citing his web searches for “Spanish inquisition torture devices” and “modern torture devices.” Rodger also conducted in-depth searches for high-profile Nazis like Heinrich Himmler and Joseph Goebbels. In what police are deeming a coincidence, the killings were carried out on the anniversary of Himmler’s death.

[Reuters]