Campus Alert Archive
UCSB

'I Am the Angel of Death': A Car Driven Into a Crowd in Isla Vista

CAotheremergency notificationmedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

Just after 11:00 p.m. PST on February 23, 2001, UCSB student David Attias drove his father's car at 50 to 65 mph down a crowded block of Sabado Tarde Road in Isla Vista, the densely packed student community adjacent to campus, killing four pedestrians and critically injuring a fifth. After the crash Attias got out and shouted that he was 'the angel of death' until bystanders subdued him and held him for deputies. He was convicted in 2002 of four counts of second-degree murder but found legally insane.

Alerts
2
Response
—
Killed
—
Injured
—
Institution
University of California, Santa Barbara
Public R1 · CA
Sheriff's loudspeaker and local media (pre-mass-notification era)
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

2 messages in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTPA System
Approximate reconstruction214 chars
This is the Sheriff's Department. There has been a major vehicle collision with multiple victims on Sabado Tarde. Clear the roadway and stay back so emergency crews can reach the injured. The suspect is in custody.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: UCSB and Isla Vista had no campus mass-notification system in 2001, so on-scene communication came from sheriff's deputies and emergency crews.
The note that the suspect was in custody reflects that bystanders had already subdued Attias before deputies arrived.
UPDATEother
Approximate reconstruction301 chars
Four people died and one was critically injured when a car was driven into pedestrians in Isla Vista late Friday night. Two of those killed were UCSB students. A suspect, also a UCSB student, is in custody and faces murder charges. Counseling services are being made available to the campus community.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

Reconstructed: the death toll of four and the identities (two UCSB students among the dead) are confirmed by NBC News and the Santa Barbara Independent.
Reference to counseling reflects the standard campus response to a mass-casualty event affecting students, communicated after the fact rather than as a real-time alert.
Context

Background

Isla Vista is the unincorporated, exceptionally dense student neighborhood that wraps around the University of California, Santa Barbara, and on the night of February 23, 2001 it became the scene of one of the deadliest vehicular attacks ever to strike a campus community. Just after 11:00 p.m., UCSB freshman David Attias drove his father's 1991 Saab down the 6500 block of Sabado Tarde Road at 50 to 65 mph, plowing into pedestrians and killing four: UCSB students Nicholas Bourdakis and Christopher Divis, both 20; 27-year-old Elie Israel of San Francisco; and 20-year-old Santa Barbara City College student Ruth Levy, whose brother was the critically injured fifth victim. After the crash, Attias climbed onto the car and shouted that he was 'the angel of death,' and bystanders tackled and held him until Santa Barbara County deputies arrived. In June 2002 a jury convicted him of four counts of second-degree murder, then found him legally insane, and he was committed to Patton State Hospital. Because the attack predated campus mass-notification by years, there was no text or email alert; word spread through sheriff's deputies on scene and local media, and the case is now often recalled alongside the 2014 Isla Vista rampage as a defining tragedy for the UCSB community.
Analysis

Key Findings

A UCSB student drove a car into pedestrians in Isla Vista just after 11:00 p.m. on February 23, 2001, killing four and critically injuring a fifth
Two of the four killed were UCSB students; the driver was also a UCSB student
Bystanders subdued the attacker and held him for sheriff's deputies
Attias was convicted of four counts of second-degree murder in 2002 but found legally insane and committed to a state hospital
Outcome
Four people were killed: UCSB students Nicholas Bourdakis and Christopher Divis (both 20), San Francisco resident Elie Israel (27), and Santa Barbara City College student Ruth Levy (20). A fifth victim was critically injured. Attias was subdued by bystanders, convicted of four counts of second-degree murder in June 2002, found legally insane, and committed to a state hospital.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Source
    2001 Isla Vista killings - Wikipedia
    en.wikipedia.org
  2. News
    The Isla Vista Car Massacre: Ten Years Later - The Santa Barbara Independent
    independent.com
  3. News
    Isla Vista Shooting Spree Recalls Terrifying 2001 Massacre - NBC News
    nbcnews.com
Tags
vehicle-attackcaliforniahistoricpre-modern-alertisla-vistaucsbfatalities
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion