The Los Angeles Times’ coverage of the mass slaying in Southern California includes an extract of a manifesto left behind  y suspected killer Elliott Rodger. It’s the work of a disturbed young man, though rational enough to plot in detail, forecast his actions in YouTube videos and cause no alarm when law officers checked on him once.

The writing is disturbing, too. For example, a passage on the purchase of the first of three semi-automatic weapons he’d obtained to carry out his plan targeting women who he believed spurned him:

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My first act of preparation was the purchase my first handgun. I did this quickly and hastily, at a local gun shop called Goleta Gun and Supply. I had already done some research on handguns, and I decided to purchase the Glock 34 semiautomatic pistol, an efficient and highly accurate weapon. I signed all of the papers and was told that my pickup day was in mid-December.

After I picked up the handgun, I brought it back to my room and felt a new sense of power. I was now armed. Who’s the alpha male now, bitches

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