I never thought I could be an astronaut. Are you crazy? Tonight on 20/20 ` would you go to Mars if you had the chance? I'm ready. Let's go. Two Kiwis on a shortlist to outer space. This is the coolest thing ever. It's a one-way trip. What if you don't like it? It's a one-way trip. What if you don't like it? (LAUGHS) And the secret life of Elliot Rodger. I mean, look at me. I'm gorgeous. His desires and delusions. I will have my revenge. His killing spree. REPORTER: Reports of a shooting. REPORTER: The death toll could be climbing. INDISTINCT RT CHATTER And his film director father tells us what he knows. He was such a good liar, such an incredible liar. Copyright Able 2014 Kia ora, I'm Sonya Wilson. Life on Mars. Human life on Mars, in fact. Yep, it's the stuff of science fiction, but it is currently taking some giant leaps toward reality, with plans in place for a manned, private mission to Mars. Wanna go? Well, the catch is, there's no return ticket. It's certainly not for everyone, but tonight on 20/20, we meet two Kiwi women whose passion for space is so extreme, they're willing to give everything up to move to Mars. Here's Matt McLean with their story. Are you scared? I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. Would you go to Mars if you had the chance? A new planet, a new colony, a new life. But there's a catch. It's one-way only. I've had people going from, 'Are you crazy?' I never thought when I was younger I could be an astronaut. Mars One is the most ambitious project in the solar system ever. The $8 billion project that plans to send four ordinary people to Mars to create a permanent human settlement by 2025. They'll live here for the rest of their lives. There were 200,000 applicants. These have been whittled down to 700. And these two Kiwis are on a shortlist to go. People must say you're crazy. I don't think I'm crazy at all. I think adventurous perhaps and, um, possibly a little naive at this point. Nicola Fahey loves space, stars and the idea of living on a new planet. It's fair to say it's a massive shift from her life here on Earth. Well, I'm actually a preschool teacher. I teach at a daycare in Auckland. And, um` And for fun, I do all sorts of things. I go to the park, I play computer games ` badly ` I hang out with friends and that sort of thing. So I'm a pretty average, normal person, really. So you're willing to give all of that up? I like the idea of going out and doing things. They said the same about Hillary going up Mt Everest. They said, 'You're crazy. You'll die up there.' But he didn't. It's just pushing the limits of humanity. Why not Mars? Yeah. She's not the only one to want to give it all up to go to Mars. Kristy Flower, a trainee nurse, also has a desire to make her mark on the red planet. Why are you doing this? Um, I want to contribute back to society on a scale that not just, um, going and becoming a nurse can do. It won't be forgotten after... after I die. So you want to be remembered? So you want to be remembered? I do. I want to be remembered. Kristy has always been intrigued about what could be out there but admits she knows little about where she could be heading. What do you know about Mars? Um, probably very basic Wikipedia knowledge, what I've learnt from other applicants on Facebook. Well, for starters, Mars is about 480km that way ` a journey that'd take you about eight months. It's one-way because there's not the ability to launch a rocket off Mars to bring them home. Sound enticing? It's a one-way trip. What if you don't like it? It's a one-way trip. What if you don't like it? (LAUGHS) Tough luck. I'll be there. There'll be no... I'll have no choice. I'll be there. There'll be no... I'll have no choice. Do you think this is space suicide? Um, yeah, slightly,... (LAUGHS) cos, yeah, I will die out there, but, um... and the risks of dying in flight are quite large. Once you say goodbye to Earth, you're saying goodbye to your friends and family forever. Will you miss them, though? > Will you miss them, though? > Yes, definitely. They're always good at making me laugh, and, um, uh, so I'll miss that. But it'll be` I'll have a new family up there ` not replacing my family, just another one. If your friends and family didn't want you to go, would that put you off? This might sound selfish, but no. I mean, I don't have any children or a partner, so I'm` I'm not tied down through that. So, really,... there's no reason for me to` to stay, really. I'm not really sure if these people know what's gonna happen to them. Haritina Mogosanu is a bio-scientist, self-confessed space nerd and president of the NZ Mars Society. How viable is Mars One really? I don't believe there is enough science done on this mission to be able to safely send people on Mars. And this might change. Haritina has taken two groups of Kiwis to the Utah Mars simulation, where they stayed for two weeks. If anyone in NZ knows what they're up for, it's her. These people who applied for Mars One, do they really know what's gonna happen to them? Do they know? Are they prepared to leave everything behind and` and just go there? And, like, space is dangerous. In an effort to show the girls just what they're getting themselves into, we thought we'd take them on our own Mars simulation, albeit slightly more lo-fi. You think you wanna live on Mars, so this weekend we're gonna put you through your paces. I want to introduce you to Haritina. She'll be your commander for the weekend, and she's gonna tell you everything you need to know. Welcome to base camp, I'm your commander, and this is your spaceship. It's very confined, and in here, we also have for you spacesuits that you'll have to wear every time you go outside of your spaceship. I need you to hand over your cell phones, because there is no communication on Mars. So we're gonna keep those for the weekend. And last but not least, we'll have to get you into your spacesuits, so here we go. First up, we take them on a training mission ` the same training that real astronauts undertake. Well, kind of. This is how astronauts train, and this is as close as you'll get here on Earth to experience weightlessness. It's a compulsory thing that astronauts have to do. They train hundreds of hours in pools, simulating the lack of gravity. If the girls make it to the final four of Mars One, they'll train for seven long years to prepare them for living in space. I had extreme difficulty keeping myself upright underwater while coordinating tubes and breathing apparatus and, 'Where is everybody else?' It was... It's actually quite exhausting. She got us to take our regulators out of our mouths and throw them away, and I was, like, 'I don't really want to do that,' but, um, if you stay calm, it's` it's all good. (CHUCKLES) I'm pretty` pretty shattered. On our faux Mars mission, we'd be remiss not to bring the girls here ` the closest we could get to actually landing them on Mars. I came this close to tears, because I was just, like, 'This is the coolest thing ever.' And here is Mars. And so this is a real picture from Mars, and this is how your environment would look like. First words through my head was, 'Home, sweet home.' And then, like, 'Wow, it's pretty barren, isn't it?' It's nice to have what we have here with the trees and the beautiful views, but it's just really something to look at. I'm good with changing environments, having moved places quite frequently. You'd be missing a lot of things, like the colour green. You will also miss probably the sea. If you're... If you like the ocean, you will never see that much running water, maybe even swimming pools. There would be no running free on Mars. You will have to live in a very small environment. You won't be able to smell the soils again and the flowers. You won't be able to feel the wind on your face. But you will be able to bounce very high, which is, I think, very cool. I'll record the ocean, record birds and everything here before I go, convert it to an MP3 and just play it while I'm up there while I'm working. It should be enough at least to get at least the edge off of not being able to see it in person. After it rains, it's, like, 'Well, I'll never experience that again or have that smell.' Um, and it does, yeah... it brings it to home. I think that we made them think about what else is there that they need to consider, and, who knows, maybe they will change their mind or think that this is not such a light thing to do, easy... mission. Once darkness fell, it was time to chow down, but in space, you can forget about hearty home-cooked meals. For their mission, we insist they eat nothing but freeze-dried food for the entire duration. What are we gonna have? We've got Mexican chicken, pasta vegetanio. What are we gonna have? We've got Mexican chicken, pasta vegetanio. However you pronounce it. Yeah. Yeah. Hold. Food is important when you go on a mission like this, because it's the only thing that gives you variety and it's the only thing that you can use for fun. But how much variety and fun is there really in freeze-dried food for the rest of your life? If it is like your mum's cooking, then it's pretty darn tasty, cos it smells good. Slightly apprehensive. Shouldn't be that bad. Oh, it's quite good. Oh, it's quite good. See? Oh, it's quite good. See? Whoa, that is really good. Good choice with the` with the lamb and veggies. I could live off this. (COUGHS) It's dreadful. (LAUGHS) Once dinner is over, it's time for bed, and it's a small space for the girls in their little spaceship. OK, so, welcome home for the night. It's a bit cosy, isn't it? Yeah. Yeah. Little bit. So, how has the day been? It's been exciting. It's been exciting. Very exciting. Full on, yeah. OK, girls, I'm actually gonna let you off the hook here. You don't have to sleep here overnight. We're not allowed to keep you down here in the TVNZ basement, so we're putting you up in a hotel tonight. But we are gonna keep your phones. We do expect you to stick to that, and we do expect you to continue with your astronaut diet as well. So there's your breakfast for the morning. We'll see you back here bright and early tomorrow morning raring to go. When we come back, we have a surprise for the girls that will really test their nerve. (SCREAMS) FUNKY MUSIC These two wannabe astronauts are on a shortlist to go to Mars, so we thought we'd give them a taste of space life to see if they've got what it takes. Oh no! You're joking me. So you know how one of the requirements is that you've gotta be physically fit to go to Mars? We're gonna put you through your paces today. This is Andrew from Drill Outdoor Fitness,... Come on. Push, push. ...and he's gonna give you a bit of a boot camp lesson today. ...and he's gonna give you a bit of a boot camp lesson today. Hi, girls! Ready to go? I suppose so. I suppose so. Let's get into it. We're gonna start off with a nice and easy jog up to those cones and back. So a nice and easy jog. We're gonna go right down and up as low as you can. Let's go. 10. That's it. Nine. You're doing good, you're doing good. Eight. Keep it up, girls. Three. Two. And one. We're gonna jog again, guys. Little bit faster this time. When you're in space, your muscles are fizzing, and the calcium just goes away, because they're not used to counteract the gravity from Earth. So even if you're training in space, you have to train two or three times more to just be on the level of fitness that you'd be here on Earth. This is a taste of what's to come. We'd better get fit quick, girl. Haritina was saying that astronauts need to train two to three hours a day. What do you think of that? I need to go and buy some running shoes. After a full-on weekend, we had one final challenge we couldn't wait to show them. SCREAMING Right, girls, time for your next challenge. We can't actually launch you into space in a rocket,... Uh-huh. Uh-huh. ...but we are gonna do something as close to it as we possibly can. See this reverse bungee over here? Yep. Yep. We're gonna strap you into that and shoot you up into the air. That is gonna be pretty cool. What do you think? Yeah. I'm just wondering how loud I can scream. Yeah. I'm just wondering how loud I can scream. (CHUCKLES) Terrified? Terrified? No. Terrified? No. It's` It looks exciting. To infinity and beyond! Whoa! Whoa! (SCREAMS) This ride gives the girls a tiny taste of what five times the gravitational pull feels like. Quite a shock for some, by the looks of it. Utterly terrifying. I didn't think I would scream, but I swore quite a bit at the top. (SCREAMS) I said nothing, and I'm surprised. So now the girls have completed their crash course, we ask them if they are they ready to take the next step in their pursuit to Mars. Is there anything that's been a major shock or surprise during the course? What 5Gs feels like and what it feels like to zoom up that quick. I mean, I was absolutely petrified. How do you think you're gonna go then being sent up in a rocket into space? Hopefully by then I'll be relatively used to it, so I'll be able to keep myself calm and composed and not look like I'm about to die. But for Kristy, it was the simpler things she found a challenge. Yeah, dealing without a phone was a bit difficult. I love technology, and, um, not being able to just, you know, Snapchat or text a friend or, you know, 'Oh, I just did this,' was tough. (LAUGHS) But if you think that's tough, what about leaving everything you know? Is that worth it? Yes. In the long run, everything, giving up family, giving up technology, friends, pets, the environment, for what we can do, what I can achieve is more important than... than that. So has this course served to reinvigorate your passion? Oh, absolutely, and it's enhanced it if anything. I mean, people might say, 'Oh, didn't it put you off?' No way, not at all. I'm ready. Let's go. Definitely not for me, that one. Now, the next 'small step' for the girls, apparently, is to have face-to-face interviews with the mission organisers. That's scheduled for later this year. After the break, the secret life of Elliot Rodger. He shot dead six young people and then himself. So who was the man behind the rampage, and what clues did he leave behind? Hi. Elliot Rodger here. This is the story of how I, Elliot Rodger, came to be. It is a story of a war against cruel injustice. It's an injustice that needs to be dealt with. Welcome back. The secret life of Elliot Rodger ` the 22-year-old who went on a killing spree in the US earlier this year. Now, he was a loner, obsessed with finding a girlfriend and desperate to lose his virginity. Bitter, angry and frustrated, he wrote a manifesto with a plan of exactly what he intended to do. So was it the work of a madman? Here's Barbara Walters with Elliot's father, reliving that awful night. On a quiet Memorial Day weekend, Peter Rodger and his wife were hurtling down the highway from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara. It was a 100-mile journey of terror. 'I have to save my son. I have to get to Santa Barbara now.' Peter Rodger had just seen a disturbing video that his son, Elliot, had posted on YouTube. I can't wait to give you exactly what you deserve ` utter annihilation. What went through your mind? I can only describe like, uh` like a really... dark force of horrible energy that hit me. What were your fears for him? What were your fears for him? I felt for his` his life. I didn't know what` what he was doing. Suddenly he's saying he's going to do other things to other people. I was confused. I just wanted to go and find him and` and talk to him. I mean, We were driving up there not knowing what to do, trying to get information. Peter Rodger was on a mission to prevent a massacre. But halfway to his destination, suddenly he heard the reports. Breaking news right now out of Isla Vista, where we are getting reports of a shooting. REPORTER: There are unconfirmed reports that there may be as many as three victims, possibly a fatality. REPORTER: The death toll could be climbing. POLICE RT: Shots fired, shots fired. Did you know that this was your son, the shooter? No. God` Good Lord, no. We were just driving up there in absolute fear for him and` and confusion. REPORTER: Witnesses say a BMW with two people inside had people open fire and also run over people. I was hearing, you know, reports of a black BMW, and I was going, 'Oh, no, no, no.' We were on the phone at the time to the police. They were saying, 'We don't have any information for you.' Seven people died that night, including the shooter, Elliot Rodger. 13 others were hospitalised. For Peter Rodger, those memories are a waking nightmare. How are you? (SIGHS) Every night I go to sleep, I wake up, and I think of... those young men and young women that have died and were injured and were terrorised, and my son did that. When you wake up in the morning, what do you think? When you wake up in the morning, what do you think? (SIGHS) It's like a reverse nightmare situation. When you go to sleep normally, you have a nightmare, and you wake up, and everything's OK. Yeah. Yeah. Now I go to sleep, I might have a nice dream. And then I wake up, and it's slowly... the truth of what happened dawns on me. And, you know, that is that my` my son was a mass murderer. And then I think about the victims, and I think about what he did. And I try to process it. But who was the young man behind the rampage? And why did he do it? Hi. Elliot Rodger here. Were there clues in the disturbing jigsaw of videos he left behind? And what would his 137-page so-called 'manifesto' reveal about the private agony of a psychotic mind? Its title ` My Twisted World. This is the story of how I, Elliot Rodger, came to be. It is a story of a war against cruel injustice. This tragedy did not have to happen, but humanity forced my hand. Elliot Rodger was born in London and was brought to America at the age of 5. His Malaysian-born mother, Li Chin, was a unit nurse in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. His father directed television commercials and worked on the hit film Hunger Games. In the beginning, Elliot had a seemingly normal childhood. H-He was adorable. He would laugh so much that sometimes we were worried he would choke. It was really wondrous, those first four, five years of his life. It was wondrous. You loved Elliot. You loved Elliot. I loved Elliot. Elliot loved you. I... Yeah. But at the age of 7, Elliot's parents got divorced. One year later, his father had remarried. This time to Moroccan-born Soumaya Akaaboune, an actress who appeared in the Hollywood blockbuster Green Zone. It was during those years that 7-year-old Elliot began his long treatment in therapy. Why did you think he needed it? Why did you think he needed it? When we realised he had social issues, we brought therapists in to help him integrate into society. Did he have trouble with other children, with making friends? He did? He had very few friends in elementary school, because he was a very, very, very, very shy... shy boy. On the surface, Elliot seemed destined for a life of success and privilege. Peter Rodger's work gave his son access to Hollywood's elite. From an early age, it was a world he longed to join. My little 9-year-old self realised that there were hierarchies, that some people were better than others. Did he blame you for the fact that he wasn't a rich kid? He just had illusions of grandeur. Even if he couldn't make it himself, he wanted to feel in a position where we would somehow provide it for him. The relationship that Elliot shared with his father had always been complicated. Peter Elliot was the Mt Everest his son could never reach. You are a very good-looking man. Did he realise that? Did that please him? Was he`? He was jealous of me and the way I looked. The shy, young boy harboured fear and self-doubt. His parents moved him from school to school, hoping but never succeeding to help Elliot fit in. Oh, check it out. There's me. At first glance, Elliot Rodger seemed like any other college-age kid,... Look at how fabulous I look. ...bragging about designer clothes,... $300, Giorgio Armani. ...posing for selfies scored to retro pop. WHITNEY HOUSTON'S 'HOW WILL I KNOW' PLAYS ON RADIO But the path Elliot was walking took him to the dark side of his mind. My problem is girls. I desire girls. But girls are not sexually attracted to me. It's not fair. It's not fair. But why did those closest to him fail to see any warning signs when it seemed clear that Elliot was mentally disturbed? People have called your son evil. How would you describe Elliot? Elliot was far from evil. Something happened to him. And then I think he became very mentally ill. What I don't get is we didn't see this coming at all ` none of us. But there were clues hidden in those early years that Peter Rodger now admits he missed. The lonely young boy had grown into an introverted teenager. By the age of 13, he had walled himself into a cyber world. His constant companions ` the characters in the video game World of Warcraft. In high school, Elliot was a loner, bullied by his peers. They threw food at him during lunch and shoved him into lockers. He was afraid of boys and girls? He felt he had an inability to get along with them. Elliot fled from two high schools before finding refuge at a tiny 100-student school called Independence High. There was never a time in working with him or knowing him that I ever felt like his inability to interact socially would ever have led me to believe that this kind of rage was building inside of him ` never. But the isolation hid a firestorm of frustration and anger. Its target during those teen years was sex. This was the major turning point. If Elliot had had the sex that he says he wanted so much, would things have been different? I don't think so, because, um, I think he had a condition. He had a very seriously, uh, advanced mental condition, and I think that whatever would have happened, even if he got a girlfriend, wouldn't have been able to have made him into the happy human being we wanted him to be. Did you take him to Las Vegas, hoping that he would lose his virginity? No, I suggested to him that perhaps, you know, if his... blocking point was having sex, then perhaps, you know, in Las Vegas there might be an opportunity where it's legal for him to have sex. But he didn't want to go? But he didn't want to go? He didn't want to go, because he wanted to be loved for his heart. But you know you can have these same things and not have another Elliot. No, but when you put the combination together, there's a certain pattern. And I think it's important to talk about those patterns. And I think it's important to talk about those patterns. And you missed it. God, yeah, too right, I missed it. I wish I could turn the clock back... for the` for the victims, for our family, for all of those` all the scars out there. By the time Elliot reached his 18th birthday, the shy young boy had vanished, leaving only resentment and anger. Too terrified to approach young women, it was easier to hate them. I will not let this fly. It's an injustice that needs to be dealt with. So disturbed and resentful, Elliot's life was spinning out of control. While he was an expert at lying, his mother suspected he needed help. My life is so lonely and mundane. She wanted a mental assessment of him. It just turns out that there is no way that you can actually do that unless he voluntarily does it or unless he commits a crime. She alerted the police, yes, and what happened? Six officers arrived at Elliot's apartment. q For Elliot Rodger, Santa Barbara was the picture perfect version of his ideal life. At 19, Elliot was stuck in a cycle of isolation and depression. His parents thought college life would give him a fresh start. You thought that he would have the coping skills to live alone? I thought that by putting him out there and giving him independence and integrating him into a normal society would very quickly help develop the skills that I thought was lacking in him. Did you inform anyone either at the college or the parents of his roommates that he had mental problems? I didn't see any reason to, because as far as I knew, he wasn't a threat to himself or anybody else. But left to his own devices, Elliot Rodger's behaviour would soon escalate from strange to savage. I don't understand why you're so repulsed by me. Soon, the old resentments would return. Enraged by the sight of young lovers, he acted out for the first time, throwing coffee on one kissing couple at Starbucks. Feeding on that fulfilment, his thoughts began to take a more diabolical and dangerous turn. The day of retribution had been born. His anger, now targeted at women, drew him to misogynistic websites, online forums where he once wrote, 'Start envisioning a world where women fear you.' He sent you links to these websites. I was disgusted, and I called him up and I said, 'Elliot, why are you going on these websites? 'This is negative, this is evil, and you shouldn't go on there.' But that didn't work? But that didn't work? It didn't work. And I had no idea that he had such an inbred hatred, this misogyny. But despite his deepening hatred of women, Elliot told his father he was obsessed about losing his virginity. I would say to him, 'There is no shame at all 'in not losing your virginity at a later age. 'Some people never do. Some people go into the church and choose chastity.' He would say, 'I can't get a girlfriend'? He would say, 'They're never gonna like me, because I'm not 6'2", a jock, a sporty guy.' He did say to me once, 'I wish I wasn't half Asian.' I never realised that he was so racist. Elliot's life had become a volatile mixture of desire and denial. And last summer, yet another sign of violence. Frustrated after being ignored by girls at a party, he tried to shove them off a 10ft ledge. He got into an altercation verbally with a couple of girls. And then he was picked on, and then he was thrown off the balcony. But it turns out that he was trying to push girls off the ledge. In 20/20 hindsight, I can imagine that might have been the case, and that upsets me to the core of my heart. He was such a good liar. He was such an incredible liar. Perhaps Elliot was even lying to himself, repeatedly refusing the advice of therapists, at least one of whom had recommended medication. But Elliot would say, 'I'm not sick. I'm not going to take that.' And because, um, he was of an adult age, he refused to not only take that medication, but refused to go back to see that particular doctor. There are people who say that a father with a mentally unstable son should not have allowed Elliot to live on his own. I didn't know I had a mentally unstable son. I had no idea. He had a secret life that he became incredibly, um,... brilliant at hiding. Hey. Elliot Rodger here. But that secret life was spinning out of control. Here's me in all my fabulousness. With no official diagnosis of mental illness, he bought not one, but three handguns. Elliot had launched his plan for retribution day. This is my place of refuge. Then a pivotal moment when Elliot's plot might have been completely foiled ` his mother finding one of those bizarre videos on YouTube. My life is so lonely and mundane. She wanted a mental assessment of him. It just turns out that there is no way that you can actually do that unless he voluntarily does it or unless he commits a crime. She alerted the police, yes, and what happened? Six officers arrived at Elliot's apartment. Elliot was a very very polite, kind, well-spoken, well-dressed individual. And he managed to say, 'You've got nothing to worry about.' But the police neither watched the YouTube videos nor ran a background check for purchasing guns. If somebody's going to do a welfare check, surely they should do a gun check on the way, because how is somebody going to do something to themselves if they don't... if they feel they're a danger? It takes 90 seconds to do a gun check. That was the turning point between life and death ` a missed moment that began the countdown to Elliot's day of retribution. Well, this is my last video. It all has to come to this. The day in which I will have my revenge against humanity, against all of you. He called it his day of retribution. Up next, the full horror of what Elliot did on that day and how his dad came to realise what had happened. How did you learn that your son was the shooter? The sheriff, the way, you know, he just looked me in the eye, and he said, 'We've found a deceased person, and we found a licence in his pocket that fits your son's description.' And I went... (MOANS) And I didn't know that he was the perpetrator then. I thought he was a victim. I thought he was a victim. I was so scared they were gonna put me into a straitjacket and lock me away. I went to a mate of mine, FAST-PACED MUSIC One day I was happy-go-lucky JK; the next morning I got up, looked in the mirror, and there was this guy I didn't like looking back. MUSIC CONTINUES I was so scared they were gonna put me into a straitjacket and lock me away. I went to a mate of mine, and he said, 'Harden up.' (LAUGHS) Hardening up is` is not what you need to do. RAPID GUITAR MUSIC MUSIC CONTINUES Welcome back. After three years of meticulous planning, Elliot Rodger's deranged mind brought him to what he called the day of retribution. Here's the final part of our story. The day in which I will have my revenge against humanity, against all of you. His parents were having dinner in Los Angeles with friends. They had plans to see Elliot the next day. He was due to come on Saturday for lunch ` the day after the 24th. Do you think he already knew what he was going to do? Yeah. After reading the journals, yeah, I do. What Elliot's journal revealed was a master plan of carnage. I will drive down to my father's house to kill my little brother,... I was meant to have a meeting in London, and he wanted to know the dates. Why? He wanted me out of town so that he could come and murder his brother and Soumaya. The only thing that saved his family's lives was a change in Peter's schedule. My wife and, uh, Jazz, my 9-year-old, are still alive because of that. What Peter Rodger didn't know was that his son had already murdered three people that night ` his two roommates, David Wang and James Hong, and their visiting friend, George Chen. They had been brutally stabbed to death in Elliot's beachside apartment. Hours later, at 9.17pm, Elliot emailed his manifesto to friends, his therapist and his parents. Now he was a predator in search of the rest of his prey. I'll be a god, exacting my retribution just for the crime of living a better life than me. OVERLAPPING POLICE RADIO TRANSMISSIONS A deadly shooting in Isla Vista with multiple victims. Three people have been shot. All of a sudden, sirens start going, ambulances start going. Multiple places, multiple people. The death toll could be climbing. He went up to the top of the loop. Firing, he shot three more victims. I'll take to the streets of Isla Vista and slay every single person I see there. He then confronted another young woman and pointed his gun at her. At first, Sierra Swartz thought the gun was a toy. He shot, and I felt, like- I just felt the wind, like, pass right by my face, and I was, like, 'What the <BLEEP>?' So I turned around, and I started walking fast the other way. People were like, 'They're shooting! They're shooting!' Drawing gunfire from officers. He fired rounds at the deputy sheriff, and the deputy sheriff replied with one round of gunfire. That black BMW ploughed its way over pedestrians. Some guy ran into our house bleeding everywhere. He said he got run over by a car. There was carnage and chaos everywhere. REPORTER: As many as seven victims taken to the hospital. But after deputies fired on him for the second time, Elliot's car spun out of control. Three of the deputies returned fire and struck the vehicle. Witnesses say they heard a single shot from inside the car. The long night's journey into terror had finally come to a close. Did Elliot kill himself, or did the police kill him? What I gather is that he was shot in the hip and then he took his own life. How did you learn that your son was the shooter? The sheriff, uh,... came. And I... (EXHALES) I'll remember this moment for the rest of my life. The way, you know, he just looked me in the eye, and he said, 'We've found a deceased person, 'and we found a licence in his pocket that fits your son's description.' And I went... (MOANS) I did not know that he was the perpetrator then. I thought he was a victim. I thought he was a victim. A search of Elliot's BMW revealed an arsenal ` three semiautomatic weapons and 400 bullets. Elliot had been ready for Armageddon. Have you reached out to the victims, to the families? I haven't reached out to them, because I think that they needed to have space and time, and I think it would've been inappropriate. Chin Roger, Elliot's mother, has chosen to remain silent, instead telling us in a statement... We have heard from the families of some of the victims, and they resent my interviewing you, because they hold you responsible in part for their children's death. What do you say to them? (SIGHS) I... I wish I` I wish I could turn back the clock. I wish that these families didn't have to go through this terrible ordeal. It's very hard for them to understand that I didn't know the monster that was in my son. Why did you decide that you would speak out? The only reason I'm here is to tell his story to try to stop this happening again. What do you hope that it will accomplish? There's an awful lot that can be done in this country to help families that might have another Elliot. There are holes in the mental health system, and I think that that's really got to be looked at. In death as in life, his relationship with his son remains complicated. The family of Adam Lanza have said that they wished that their son had never been born. Do you ever feel that way? That's a loaded question, Barbara. A part of me says yes. And the reason is because he did an awful lot of harm to young men and women who didn't deserve to die, and my son did it. How do you mourn a child whom others vilify? It's very hard, Barbara. After reading the journal, I, uh` I had a lot of anger for him. And I think my job now is to try and replace that anger with love and forgiveness. But at the same time, I'm also haunted by the pain and the suffering and the terrorizing that this sick human being did to others. And I have to live with that for the rest of my life. Gosh, very brave interview by that father there, eh. Now, if you want to see any of tonight's stories again, you can head to our website. It's... Or you can go to our Facebook page. We're at... And let us know your thoughts on tonight's show. Next week, we've got an update on how Connor is doing. He's the little boy who needed a kidney transplant, and his mum vying to become his donor.