Suspected shooter posted ‘rambling’ manifesto

This image from video posted on YouTube shows Elliot Rodger. Sheriff’s officials say Rodger was the gunman who went on a shooting rampage near the University of California at Santa Barbara on Friday, May 23, 2014. AP

MANILA, Philippines – The student who killed six people near the University of California, Santa Barbara, detailed in a manifesto how deputies almost thwarted his killing plan.

Elliot Rodger wrote in the 141-page rambling document how he narrowly missed being found out when deputies knocked on his door last month.

Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown says deputies checked on Rodger after being called by a concerned family member. The officers left after determining he didn’t need to be locked up for mental-health reasons.

Rodger expressed relief that his apartment wasn’t searched because deputies would have found his weapons and his writings and would have foiled his plan.

Brown says he won’t second-guess his deputies’ decision-making in the encounter.

Rodger carried out part of his plan before he was killed.

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