California Shooter's Father Is Known for Directing Film About God
The father of Elliot Rodger, who police say is the man responsible for killing six people in Santa Barbara, California, last week, is known for his film work within Hollywood and for directing a documentary about God in 2009.
Peter Rodger set out to travel to 23 countries for his project titled, "Oh My God," in which he interviewed celebrities like Hugh Jackman, David Copperfield and Ringo Starr, along with everyday people who are Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Jews and atheists to discover what religion meant to them.
"My goal was to find out what 'God' means to people, and to determine whether religion and religious people were causing all the world's problems," Elliot Rodger's father said in 2009, according to Edge magazine. "There was such commonality in all the responses that at one point I didn't even think I had a film."
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The low-budget project only grossed about $38,000 during its debut, according to IMDb. In addition, Rodger lists his son in the credits of the film, along with his daughter, Georgia Rodger.
Rodger was also an assistant director for "The Hunger Games," meaning he was in charge of filming, but wasn't connected to the principal set, Newsday reports.
Last week, Rodger and his ex-wife, Lichin, set out to find their son, Elliot, moments before he went on a murder rampage after they read a 140-page manifesto in which Elliot described troubling thoughts and his intent to lash out violently.
After looking at her son's YouTube page Friday evening where Elliot had recently uploaded a new video called "Retribution," Lichin called 911 and alerted Rodger, but it was too late.
Elliot had already stabbed three men to death in his Isla Vista apartment before embarking on a shooting spree that left three others dead and 13 wounded. He is believed to have shot himself too.
According to relatives, Elliot had been treated for mental illness for years, and was diagnosed at an early age with Asperger's syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism which prevented him from having normal social interactions.
A day before the shootings, Elliot's video indicated that he was unhappy with life because women had rejected his sexual advances.
