The recent shooting spree in Isla Vista, Calif., bore an eerie similarity to a rampage carried out 13 years ago, prompting Tony and Patricia Bourdakis to relive the horrifying event that took their son’s life.
Just like Friday night’s murder spree by Elliot Rodger, a senseless 2001 attack by David Attias was carried out in the same coastal California community by the son of a Hollywood director and driven by mental illness and intense feelings of rejection. Rodger’s spree claimed seven lives, including his own; Attias used his car to kill four people and was arrested.
Both attacks occurred on a Friday night, with Rodger’s coming on May 23 and Attias’ on Feb. 23 some 13 years earlier.
“My wife said, ‘My God, it’s the same situation,’” a shaken Tony Bourdakis told FoxNews.com. “It’s Friday night, just like the first time. It’s the 23rd of the month. He essentially focused the same way David Attias did.
“My wife said, ‘My God, it’s the same situation.’”
– Tony Bourdakis, lost son in 2001 attack
“I think [the similarity] really has to be looked into,” he said. “It really scares the hell out of me.”
Nicholas Bourdakis was just 20 years old when Attias, a freshman at University of California-Santa Barbara, plowed his Saab into a crowd of students. Nicholas was killed, as were Christopher Divis, 20; Ruth Levy, 20 and Ellie Israel, 27. Attias, who then jumped out of his car and stood on the hood, shouting “I’m the angel of death,” was declared insane by a jury. He spent 10 years in a state mental hospital before a judge released him.
Attias, whose father is former “Ally McBeal” and “Sopranos” TV director Daniel Attias, had complained about not being able to make friends or attract girls.