Former Roommate Talks About Suspect In Norman Hostage Situation

New Details Wednesday night surrounding what drove Devin Rogers to hold people hostage this week inside an office building in Norman. A former roommate shed light on Rogers' past and what he was feeling just days before the standoff.

News 9 spoke with two of Rogers' friends, and they gave a better idea of just who Rogers really is and what may have pushed him over the edge.

“I can't imagine how he must've felt going through that traumatic experience in Afghanistan, being captured, watching your whole squad die in front of your eyes and him being strangled,” Lopaka Kauakahi said.

Devin Rogers is a marked man, now a criminal, but his friends say he was once a decorated prisoner of war, forever bearing the scars on his neck.

“Those scars were from when he was in Afghanistan. He was a prisoner of war,” Kauakahi said. “He said there were like six other people, seven other people. The only thing about it is he ended up being the only one making it out.”

11/12/2014 Related Story: Hostage In Middle Of Norman Standoff Speaks Out

And Rogers made sure those he took hostage Tuesday in Norman made it out, just like him.

Those who know Rogers claim he is a very decorated war veteran and spent 10 years in the army in three tours of duty, and it was his last one where he ended up getting captured and tortured. However, back at home they said he had no enemies and was a courteous, gentle man, not a kidnapping gunman.

“It wasn't in his character. Devin was the type of man to always look out for the next man, never to put anyone in danger,” Kauakahi said.

Before showing up in Oklahoma, Rogers friends said he left behind a note telling his roommate he was leaving and then disappeared.

“I hoped that he just wanted to leave LA. Leave California. Go to another city and start fresh,” Kauakahi said.

Friends of Rogers said he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and that the scars on his neck kept him from getting jobs. Although he is said to have had an honorable discharge from the military, his life as a civilian was anything but that.

Rogers' friends believe he took hostages to create a situation for himself and tried to negotiate a 10-year solitary confinement with authorities.

11/10/2014 Related Story: Norman Hostage Situation Ends Peacefully, Suspect In Custody