Crime & Safety

Rampage Killer's Suicide Note Found

A search of Ali Syed's computer turns up a farewell message created the day of his shooting spree, investigators say. The note indicates his actions were "premeditated."

A suicide note written the morning of Ali Syed's deadly rampage has been found on his computer, officials said Friday.

Created within an hour of his parents' frantic 9-1-1 call, the note was discovered on a desktop computer removed from the gunman's Ladera Ranch bedroom, according to a Sheriff's Department press release.

The document was titled "Suicide Note" and "might answer some questions regarding Syed’s motive," the release said.

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On Feb. 19, Syed shot and killed a 20-year-old woman in his bedroom, then went on a carjacking spree in which he killed two others and wounded three before committing suicide on the border between Orange and Villa Park.

The suicide note indicated Syed's actions were "premeditated and planned," officials said. But investigators found no previous connections between Syed and his victims.

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"It certainly appeared within the note [his] victims were just random," Investigator Dan Salcedo told Patch. "It was premeditated, but the victims were unassociated."

Salcedo said family members told investigators Syed spent most of his free time playing video games. Officials declined to identify those games, but the shootings mirrored events in Grand Theft Auto.

No other details about the suicide note were immediately available. "We can't really discuss the content of the suicide note," sheriff's spokeswoman Gail Krause said.

Editor Peter Schelden contributed to this report.


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