Douglas Lovelace , director of the Strategic Studies Institute at the US Army War College , contrasted Adkisson with another 21st-century mass shooter , Elliot Rodger , who killed six people in the 2014 Isla Vista killings in California . According to Lovelace , Adkisson was " largely considered a terrorist " while Rodger was widely viewed as a mass murderer , a distinction that Lovelace questioned . Lovelace noted that many elements of Adkisson 's background are consistent with those of typical mass murderers include a history of substance abuse and feelings of depression , anger and hopelessness stemming from unemployment and financial woes . Unlike other mass murderers , however , Adkisson gives some details about political motivations for the crime in his suicide note . He lambasts mainstream media as propaganda for the Democratic Party , he accuses Democrats of being allied with terrorists in the War on Terror and blames liberalism for what he sees as the ruin of the United States . Concerning the targeted Unitarian Universalist church he calls it " a den of un-American vipers " saying they are " sickos , weirdos and homos " who will " embrace every pervert " . He labels his own actions variously as a " hate crime " , " political protest " and a " symbolic killing " which he concludes : " I thought I 'd do something good for the country and kill Democrats "
2014 Isla Vista killings
2014 Isla Vista killings
Knoxville Unitarian Universalist church shooting