Student Remembers IV Shooting Victims One Year Later
As the one year anniversary of the Isla Vista massacre approaches, one UCSB student is remembering the victims he tried to help that night.
Max Potter keeps something tucked away in his wallet.
“It kind of just blew up to me and I grabbed it and put it in my pocket. Didn’t really think about it a whole lot. I saw it the next day and I realized, I might as well keep this with me,” he said.
He pulled out a piece of crime scene tape. He’s kept the yellow strip of plastic in his pocket for nearly a year, following a night he’s still coping with.
On Friday, May 23, just before 9:30 p.m., Potter was riding his bike down Camino Del Norte. He thought it was going to be just another night in Isla Vista.
He noticed three girls lying on the ground in front of the Alpha Phi sorority house. He figured they were intoxicated and stopped to give them a hand.
“Just like that, it was the most surreal feeling I’ve ever had in my entire life of seeing both Veronica and Katie on the ground not moving and seeing that they were bleeding,” he said.
Potter found sorority sisters Veronica Weiss, Katherine Cooper and Bianca Dekock. They were shot a total of 20 times.
Dekock was the only survivor.
“She was right here on the sidewalk,” said Potter and he stood in front of Alpha Phi. “And she was on the phone with her mom screaming, ‘Mom, I’ve been shot. I’ve been shot. I love you.’
Potter said adrenaline kicked in, unlike anything he’d ever experienced. He took off his jacket and knelt on the grass next to Cooper. She was shot eight times and he tried to stop her bleeding.
“I would like to think she was still alive because I was trying to talk to her but I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t tell,” he said.
As Potter was giving her CPR, sheriff’s deputies and UCPD officers ran up to him.
“They had their guns drawn and they were like, ‘Where’s the shooter? Where’s the shooter?’ ‘I don’t know but it’s not me.'”
Just then, they heard a second round of gunshots down the street. Law enforcement officers told everyone nearby to find shelter. Potter and a few others outside ran into the sorority house.
When he came back out, he saw Cooper and Weiss had died.
A year later that still weighs on his heart, even though he did everything he could.
“Could have saved her,” Potter said. “It’s not to say that, you know, I could of or should have, it’s just that I wish I had. I wish I was biking by a little bit earlier and I maybe could have stopped the entire thing from happening. Or maybe I would have been a victim.”
Potter does not consider his actions heroic and he rarely speaks about that night. He just hopes someone would do the same for him in a similar situation.
He wants to make sure the six victims from that tragic night are never forgotten.
“They’re the real heroes. They’re the ones that people need to remember. Because they’re the most important ones,” he said.
Isla Vista Remembrance Events:
The Predicament of Aftermath: Memorializing Landscapes of Violence Thursday, May 14, 12–1:30 p.m. Location: McCune Conference Room, 6020 Humanities and Social Science Building The UCSB Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa Society presents the 2015 Lawrence Willson Memorial Lecture, featuring Edward T. Linenthal, a professor of history and editor of the Journal of American History at Indiana University. Help Plant a Field of Light Wednesday, May 13, 11 a.m.–12:45 p.m. (or later) Outside Lot 22, near Pardall Tunnel, opposite Student Resource Building – See more at: http://www.news.ucsb.edu/remembrance-events#sthash.pnHBdlbo.dpuf As an act of creative commemoration we invite you to help plant 2000 solar-powered lights, part of Professor Marcos Novak’s Hesperus is Phosphorus lighting artwork. We hope the community planting will bring together the entire community. BluniteIV Throughout the month of May UCSB and Isla Vista Inspired by the 2014 student candlelight vigil that assembled some 5000 participants a year ago,BLUNITEis a community vision taking luminous form this coming May to helpIsla Vista residents come together once again to show their solidarity through light, in the aftermath of darkness. UCSB Grads Mobilize Throughout the month of May UCSB UCSB Grads Mobilize, a group started by Sociology graduate students, collected written submissions from UCSB students and Isla Vista community members one year following the tragic events in Isla Vista. Official Dedication of the Isla Vista Love & Remembrance Garden Saturday, May 16, 2 p.m. People’s Park, Top of the Loop, Isla Vista Ceremony to dedicate the self-guided remembrance botanical gardenwith six commemorative benches designed by UCSB art students at IslaVista Open Lab to honor and remember the UCSB students lost on May23, 2014. Come Together/In Memory of the I.V. Tragedy: A Discussion with Felice Blake Tuesday, May 19, 6 p.m. MultiCultural Center (MCC) Lounge, UCSB One year after the incident that shook the Isla Vistacommunity, we invite you to reopen the discussion on how to combatracism and sexist domination that continues to manifest itself in ourcommunities. We Remember Them: Acts of Love and Compassion in Isla Vista May 20 to June 20, Wednesdays to Saturdays, 3-7 p.m. and Saturday, June 13 and Sunday, June 14, 1-5 p.m. The Red Barn (Old Gym), UCSB A space for healing and reflection,this exhibition honors the acts of love and compassion that emerged inIsla Vista and on campus after the tragedy on May 23, 2014. Healing Space May 20 to May 27, 9 a.m. to midnight and 24 hours a day from May 22 to May 24 Associated Students Pardall Center, 6550 Pardall Road, Isla Vista The A.S. Pardall Center in the heart of Isla Vista willoffer a week-long healing space with ongoing programming, activities,and services that will support the various healing needs of individualsand the community including artistic expression, remembrance,relaxation, and self-care. The Impact of the Isla Vista Tragedy: One Year Later Tuesday, May 20, 12-1:30 p.m. in the Flying A Studios Room and Wednesday, May 21, 12-1:30 p.m. in the State Street Room University Center (UCen), UCSB Beth Cohen, Ph.D. from the Academic & Staff Assistance Program (ASAP) will facilitate an interactive session about individual differences in the healing process, the power of memorials and other rituals, as well as predicting futures issues and needs. Come Together/In Memory of the I.V. Tragedy, An Evening of Self Expression Thursday, May 21, 7:30 p.m. Crushcakes & Cafe, 6533 Trigo Road, Isla Vista Calling all conscious artists to the stage.MCC hosts an open mic for anyone to artistically express themselvesthrough all creative outlets such as music, poetry, spoken word, anddance while educating others on current issues affecting students ofcolor, women, and all marginalized groups. College of Engineering Drop-In Memorial Space Thursday, May 21 and Friday, May 22, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. Harold Frank Hall 1152, UCSB Community gathering space for those who wish to come together toremember UCSB College of Engineering students, George Chen, JamesHong, and David Wang. Candlelight Vigil and Memorial Walk Saturday, May 23, 7:30 p.m. Storke Plaza, UCSB and People’s Park, Isla Vista This student-led gatheringwill bring together the UCSB and Isla Vista community in remembranceof those who were killed and injured on May 23, 2014. Sunset Paddle Out Wednesday, May 27 TBA The paddle out is a time-honored way for those inthe surf/ocean community to celebrate the life of a fallen friend. MMXIV, Music in Memory: Isla Vista 2014 Sunday, May 31, 7:30 p.m. Lotte Lehmann Concert Hall, UCSB As part of the Corwin Chair Music Series, eleven graduate students in UCSB’s Music Department will premiere original compositions written in remembrance of the events of May 23, 2014. Admission is free.
