Novel traces aftermath of ut tower shootings san antonio. Ut austin marks 50 years since tower shooting the 1966 massacre of 17 people is considered the first u. On august 1, 1966, charles whitman ascended the university of texas tower and committed what was then the largest simultaneous mass murder in american history. Whitman, an enrolled student, took control of the observation deck of the iconic tower and fired various weapons onto the campus and its surrounding business district. On august 1, 1966, charles whitman ascended the university of.
Considering the university of texas tower shooting plaque. On august 1, 1966, after stabbing his mother and his wife to death the night before, charles whitman, a former marine, took rifles and other weapons to the observation deck atop the main building tower at the university of texas at austin, then opened fire indiscriminately on people on the surrounding campus and streets. Tower pays tribute to a 1966 campus shooting that was. The university of texas at austin clocktower, where a mass shooting took place in 1966, is shown on july 5, 2016. The loaded legacy of the ut tower shooting washington post. Tower shooting ut tower shooting controversy exposed. University of texas tower shooting 1966 the handbook. On august 1, 1966, university of texas engineering student charles whitman went to the top of the 307foot campus tower. Even today, however, there are elements of the killing spree and its aftermath that have yet to be fully revealedand explored. The charles whitman murders, published by the university of north texas press in 1997, has since appeared in paperback. The bullet shot through gunbys upper left arm and entered his abdominal cavity, badly severing his small intestine. Photo for the washington post by ilana panichlinsman.
Charles whitman was a former marine sharpshooter who, in 1966, targeted and killed random civilians at the university of texas before being stopped by police. Fifty years on, tower sniper sheds new light on texas tragedy. On august 1, 1966, charles whitman ascended the university of texas tower and committed what was then the largest simultaneous mass murder in american. In 1961 whitman was admitted to the university of texas at austin on a scholarship from the naval enlisted science education program. The ut tower shooting was the first mass campus murder in america, when charles whitman staked out on the observation deck and opened fire on passersby. The mass shooting brought fundamental changes to police departments, and led to the creation of swat teams used around the country. Did the world need another book about a shooting spree that already. Over the next 96 minutes he shot and killed 15 people and wounded 31. The loaded legacy of the university of texas tower shooting. Tower pays tribute to a 1966 campus shooting that was pushed aside fourteen people were killed by a sniper at the university of texas on. Tower journey its been over 50 years since the infamous university of texas tower shooting, one of the first campus mass shootings in u. He then went to the towers 28thfloor observation deck, where he fired at random people for some 96 minutes, killing an additional 10 people including a pregnant woman, and wounding 31 others before he was shot. Paddock shot down from the 32nd floor of the mandalay bay, using the same lethal tactic as ut tower gunman charles whitman, considered the first modern mass shooter. I decided to download a book to read about it my memory becoming hazy in old.
An exmarine goes on a killing spree at the university of. Its been more than 50 years since the infamous university of texas tower shooting, one of the first campus mass shootings in u. Charles whitman takes a stockpile of guns and ammunition to the observatory platform atop a 300foot tower at the university of texas and proceeds to shoot 46 people, killing 14 people and. The loaded legacy of the ut tower shooting the 50th anniversary of charles whitmans rampage falls on the day students can legally carry concealed weapons in university of texas classes. As campus carry becomes texas law, memories of ut tower.
As campus carry becomes texas law, memories of ut tower massacre linger the university of texas tower, in austin, where charles whitman killed 17 people and wounded more than 30. Ktbc was the only well established television station in austin at the time and was our journalists were there. Book excerpt terror at noon on a sweltering monday in august 1966, charles whitman climbed to the top of the university of texas tower and began shooting pedestrians below, killing eleven people. Elizabeth crooks monday monday revisits uts infamous tower shooting listen on. On august 1, 1966, he used knives in the slayings of his mother and his wife in their respective homes and then went to the university of texas in austin with multiple firearms and began indiscriminately shooting at people. It is unlikely that ut will ever embrace the legacy of the tower shooting in quite the same way, but progress was made two summers ago, when preece and others who were on campus the day of the. A serious, theatrical skit isnt what students need during finals. The university of texas tower shooting, one of the worst mass murders in american history, took place on august 1, 1966, on and around the university of texas at austin ut campus when charles j. Lavergnes book gives the most complete analysis of the man who climbed the tower at the university of texas in 1966 and shot 45 people, besides killing his wife. Finding no responsible book on ut shootings, gary lavergne wrote. Ut tower mass shooter charles whitman pioneered the lethal.
See more ideas about charles whitman, tower and austin police. Crook based much of the book on research and interviews with survivors, and it shows in the details about everything from the shooting itself to. He fatally shot three people inside the university tower. He gunned down fortyfive people inside and around the tower before he was killed by two austin police officers. Texas tower shooting of 1966, also called university of texas clock tower shooting, mass shooting in austin, texas, on august 1, 1966, in which charles whitman, a student and exmarine, fired down from the clock tower on the campus of the university of texas, killing 14 people and wounding 31 others one of whom died years later from complications. Texas tower shooting of 1966 background, chronology, map. Whitman to gun down 45 people from the university of texas tower in 1966.