Parents of Santa Barbara shooting victims break silence
The killings happened just over a month ago at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
That's when Elliot Rodger, seen here in a chilling online manifesto, took the lives of six people, including George Chen and David Wang.
The parents of the two young men broke their public silence in an interview with CBS, hoping their pain will prevent future attacks.
"We have love in our hearts, tears in our eyes, responsibility on our shoulders, and we hear the voices from our children from heaven."
In the interview the parents spoke of the agony of losing their sons too soon, the frustration of the media's focus on the killer instead of the victims and the need for parents across the country to pay greater attention to their children's mental health.
Johnny Chen, George's father, said "Their life was so short, so tragically taken. They're like flowers even before the blossom."
The parents said gun control can never be the only solution to stop shootings like this in the future. They said children can always find a different method to kill if parents do not help them overcome hatred.
BBC reports friends described David Wang and George Chen as passionate and considerate young men, both of whom had dreams of working in the field of computer science.
KNBC says Rodger's rampage started when he stabbed Wang, Chen and another student named Cheng Hong in Rodger's apartment complex.
Elliot Rodger's father has spoken publicly since the rampage, but Chen and Wang's parents told CBS they had yet to receive an apology. Peter Rodger did send the families letters of apology after CBS contacted him and talked about his son's attack in an interview with ABC set to air Friday.
"There's no way I thought that this boy could hurt a flea. This is the most unbelievable thing Barbara, what I don't get is we didn't see this coming."
The victims' parents hope parents across the country will take a more active role in their children's mental health to prevent more violence.
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