Story highlights
Elliot Rodger killed six people, including 20-year-old Christopher Martinez, police said
Rodger's and Martinez's fathers met June 1
On Father's Day, photos of the two embracing were released
In photos released Sunday, the two dads are embracing. Theirs is a meeting wrought with profound grief, spurred by shared tragedy.
Peter Rodger’s 22-year-old son, Elliot Rodger, went on an armed rampage in late May in Isla Vista, California, killing six people. One of them was Richard Martinez’s 20-year-old son, Christopher Martinez, a University of California, Santa Barbara student.
Christopher Martinez was in a deli where Elliot Rodger fired several rounds, police said. Rodger also killed three men in his apartment and two women outside a sorority house, police have said, and drove wildly in his black BMW, shooting at pedestrians and injuring some.
The BMW collided with other cars before coming to a stop, authorities said. When officers approached, they said they found Rodger dead of a gunshot wound to the head.
At the time, Richard Martinez faced television cameras, tearfully and angrily demanding more gun control.
“Chris died because of craven, irresponsible politicians and the (National Rifle Association),” he said. “They talk about gun rights; what about Chris’ right to live? When will this insanity stop?”
On June 1, the two fathers met. The images of them together were released to mark Father’s Day by the advocacy firm Rally.
“We plan to work together so other families such as ours will not suffer as ours have,” Martinez told CNN affiliate KEYT after their meeting. “This was a private conversation between grieving fathers who’ve reached common ground.”