In what may seem like an unlikely alliance, the fathers of a victim in the Isla Vista shootings and the presumed killer met and embraced days after the massacre.
Last month, Elliot Rodger embarked on a shooting spree in Isla Vista, leaving behind a trail of deaths and ultimately himself dying of a gunshot wound.
In the wake of the tragedy, Richard Martinez — father of victim Christopher Michaels-Martinez, 20 — tearfully spoke up, coining the anti-gun violence protest phrase “Not One More.”
Previously during a press conference in California, Martinez said about the loss of his only son :
“Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the NRA. They talk about gun rights. What about Chris’ right to live? When will this insanity stop? When will enough people say ‘Stop this madness! We don’t have to live like this! Too many people have died!’ We should say to ourselves, not one more.”
Martinez’s comment later became a widely shared political meme on Facebook:
[fb link=”https://www.facebook.com/240300189498145/photos/a.240321276162703.1073741827.240300189498145/247591562102341/?type=1?][/fb]
Recently, images of the fathers of the shooter and victim, Martinez and Elliot Rodger’s father, Peter Rodger, were released.
Martinez spoke of the meeting, saying:
“We plan to work together so other families such as ours will not suffer as ours have… This was a private conversation between grieving fathers who’ve reached common ground.”
Little is known about what the two mourning fathers discussed during their initial meeting.
Martinez, who has been vocal following his son’s death, also commented:
“I’ve been told that the shooter’s father has said he wanted to devote his life to making sure that doesn’t happen again. I share that with him… He’s a father. I’m a father. He loved his son. I love my son. His son died. My son died.”
Richard Martinez is not the only relative of Chris Michaels-Martinez speaking up following the murders and demanding change. Uncle Alan Martinez wrote a widely read and shared “Comment is free” post for the UK’s Guardian , remarking :
“But Isla Vista happened in part because some people feel it is important to protect a hobby, a gun-collecting hobby focused on powerful automatic and semiautomatic weapons that are made for no other reason than to kill lots of people. Can we somehow work to maximize the rights of sane, responsible gun owners and minimize the access to powerful weaponry that emotionally unstable men, with rage in their hearts and an intent to kill, still have? I don’t know how we do it, exactly, but it seems vital that we put our minds and hearts together and commit ourselves to figuring this out.”
The image above of Richard Martinez embracing Peter Rodger was taken days after the Isla Vista massacre, on June 1, and was recently released by communications firm Rally.
[Image: Simon Astaire]