1966 — Aug 1, Charles Whitman Killing Spree/Univ. of Texas-Austin, Tower Sniper -16-17

–16-17 Behind The Tower (webpage). “The Victims.” Accessed 4-28-2022. (we include gunman)
–16-17 Gandara, Ricardo. “Casting off shadow of UT Tower shooting.” 5-13-2011. (Sniper #17)
–16-17 Wikipedia. “Charles Whitman.” (Includes Whitman as 17th death.)
–15-16 AP. “Student Slays 15 From Tower Perch.” San Antonio Express, TX. 8-2-1966, p. 1.
–13 at the University of Texas in and from the Tower
— 2 wife and mother of Whitman with a knife and a gun
— 1 Charles Joseph Whitman
— 16 Minshew. “Interactive timeline: The worst mass shootings in U.S. history.” 7-20-2012.
–14-15 Flexner and Flexner. A Pessimist’s Guide to History: 2008, p. 306. (15 counting Whitman)
— 2 wife and mother of Charles Whitman
–12 at the University of Texas in and from the Tower
— 1 Whitman killed by police officer
–14-15 Associated Press. “Sniper Kills 14.” Corsican Daily Sun, TX. 8-1-1966, p. 1.
— 2 wife and mother of Whitman
–~12 “from a sniper’s perch in the University of Texas Tower.
— 1 Police kill sniper

Narrative Information

Flexner and Flexner: “1966: University of Texas Tower Killings.
“About 11:00 A.M. on Monday, August 1, an architectural honor student named Charles Whitman walked onto the observation deck atop a twenty-seven-story office tower at the University of Texas, Austin. The student, a former marine marksman, carried with him a footlocker filled with three rifles, a sawed-off shotgun, two pistols, ammunition, and food and water.

“Whitman apparently killed his wife and his mother before heading for the campus. On the way up the tower, he calmly killed the elevator operator and a mother and her two children. After reaching the top of the tower, where he had a clear view of the campus, Whitman began shooting at the unsuspecting students below.

“Suddenly a student toppled from his bicycle. Another student, standing in the doorway of a bookstore, fell dead. Realizing they were being shot at by a sniper, students began screaming and running for cover. All the while Whitman just kept firing his rifle, even trying to hit those who went to aid wounded students lying out in the open.

“Meanwhile, a combined force of state, city, and campus police returned fire and began moving in on the tower. Whitman was finally killed by an off-duty patrolman who managed to sneak up behind him. In his hour-long shooting spree, Whitman killed twelve people and wounded thirty-three….”

Gandara: “As a 26-year-old Austin police officer, he shot and killed University of Texas Tower sniper Charles Whitman. Now, almost 45 years later as his own days are dwindling, McCoy is still reliving the 99 minutes of terror. He’s writing one final account of the city’s worst mass killings — 16 people dead and 31 more wounded — so that future McCoy generations get his account of that day….” (Gandara, Ricardo. “Casting off shadow of UT Tower shooting.” American-Statesman, Austin, TX. 5-13-2011.)

Minshew: “Charles Whitman shot 47 people from the clock tower at the University of Texas, Austin; 16 were killed and 31 wounded.” (Minshew, Charles. “Interactive timeline: The worst mass shootings in U.S. history.” Denver Post, 7-20-2012.)

Wikipedia: “Charles Joseph Whitman (June 24, 1941 – August 1, 1966) was an engineering student and former Marine, who killed 14 people and wounded 32 others in a mass shooting rampage located in and around the Tower of the University of Texas in Austin on the afternoon of August 1, 1966. Three people were shot and killed inside the University’s tower, with 11 others murdered after Whitman fired at random from the 28th floor observation deck of the Main Building. Whitman was shot and killed by Austin Police Officer Houston McCoy. Prior to the shootings at the University of Texas, Whitman had murdered both his wife and mother in Austin.” (Wikipedia. “Charles Whitman.” 1-15-2013 modification.)

Newspapers

Aug 1: Austin, Tex. (AP) – An ex-Marine killed his wife and mother, then went on a wild shooting spree in which he killed at least 12 other persons Monday from a sniper’s perch in the University of Texas Tower. Police ended the carnage by shooting the sniper to death as he blazed away with an assortment of weapons. The sniper was identified as an architectural engineering student at the university, Joseph Whitman, 24.

“The sniper picked off some of his victims as far as two blocks away as they walked along an Austin main street during the busy lunch hour.

“After a 1½-hour gunbattle the shooting ended. Police Capt. Russell Forrester said the sniper was ‘dead on arrival at Breckenridge Hospital.’

“The firing began at 11:55 a.m. and at 1:20 p.m. Police Chief Bob Miles announced ‘we got him.’

“It was not immediately known whether the sniper was killed by police bullets. During their siege of the tower, police fired volley after volley with shotguns and rifles equipped with telescopic sights.

“Some victims fell on the grass of the campus mall. Rescuers were pinned down, and an armored truck was used to pick up the wounded.

“Police who burst in upon Whitman as he was still shooting said the sniper was armed with two high-powered 30-08 deer rifles, a sawed-off shotgun and a .357 Magnum pistol.

“He terrorized the campus for an hour and a half, picking off some victims as far as two blocks away as they walked along Austin’s main downtown street during the busy lunch hour.

“After firing back at the sniper from behind trees and buildings below, officers finally entered the tower through an underground tunnel, climbed to the observation tower above the sniper’s perch and let fire at him with pistol and a shotgun…..

“The slender, four-sided tower is about 30 stories high. It stands in the middle of the campus and its upper stories command a view of the entire city. Throughout the 1½-hour gunbattle the sniper changed his position quickly from one to another of the tower’s sides.

“Some of those hit included a policeman, a girl student, a small boy, a city electrical utility work4r and an Associated Press newsman. Latest reports indicated there might have been as many as 20 persons shot.

“A justice of the peace identified one of the dead as Robert Boyer, a professor at the University. He was shot in the back. Another of the dead was said to be a policeman, Billy Speed…..” (Associated Press. “Sniper Kills 14.” Corsican Daily Sun, TX. 8-1-1966, p. 1.)

Aug 2: “Austin (AP) – a young student and scoutmaster, firing with cold and deadly accuracy, killed 13 persons Monday from a sniper’s perch high in the University of Texas tower after slaying his wife and mother with knife and gun. In an hour and a half of terror in the Texas capital, he also wounded 31 persons.

“Two policemen ended the carnage by climbing to a platform above the sniper, Charles Joseph Whitman, 24, and killing him with six shots from a revolver and two blasts from a shotgun loaded with deer slugs.

“Counting the sniper, the dead totaled 16. The 16th victim was the unborn child of a woman who was wounded. She was in her eighth month of pregnancy, authorities said.

“Police said Whitman left notes near the bodies of his wife and mother, slain separately in their homes. The notes told of depression, repressed violence and severe headaches. Police said Whitman wrote that he was killing the women to spare them embarrassment over what he was about to do. The mother was shot and stabbed to death in her fifth-floor luxury apartment near the campus. The wife, 23, was stabbed in the Whitmans’ small duplex home. Detective Lt. Merle K. Wells said the notes left in each place were different. He declined to release all of their contents. Giving partial quotations, however, police said Whitman’s notes told of ‘hating his father with a mortal passion.’ The notes also said his mother ‘gave the best 25 years of her life to that man.’ Whitman’s mother and father were separated about five months ago. The father, C.A. Whitman, lives in Lake Worth, Fla.

“….Ramon Martinez, 29, an off-duty policeman, heard what was going on, left his steak on the fire, jumped into uniform and rushed to the campus. On his own, Martinez crawled and ran to the main entrance of the building, where he handed a rifle to Allen Crum, an employee of the university cooperative store. The two men made their way to the observation deck. As Martinez rounded a corner and saw Whitman, Martinez fired. Whitman returned one shot. Martinez emptied his revolver at Whitman. Then Officer George McCoy, 26, who had followed Martinez and Crum, rushed onto the platform and fired his shotgun at Whitman. One of Martinez’ pistol bullets smashed Whitman’s rifle and another hit him in the neck. A buckshot pellet from McCoy’s shotgun hit Whitman between the eyes from about 25 feet, police said.

“At one point police had attempted to maneuver a light airplane near the top of the tower with a sharpshooter aboard. Whitman drove the plane away with rifle fire.

“….The tower…is Austin’s tallest building and its upper stories command a view of the entire city and the rolling hills beyond. The observation section of the tower reaches four stories above the 25th floor. The police said Whitman fired from all sides and all levels of the observation area….

“When the shooting began, students and university workers ran out of campus buildings to see what was happening. As bullets rained down they dashed for cover, some screaming wildly. With rescuers pinned down by the unrelenting fire, some victims lay unattended for as long as an hour under the 98-degree sun. Finally armored cars used to haul money were pressed into service as ambulances….

“Police Chief Robert Miles said that until Martinez went into action, there was no specific plan for capturing Whitman….He said Martinez, a five-year police veteran, had passed four bodies on the tower steps on his way up to the platform. Two of them were women – a custodian and a younger woman. The other two were bodies of the children of the younger woman…..

“A.R. Hamilton, university police chief, said Whitman rode to the observation section on an elevator about 11 1.m. ….Hamilton said Whitman was able to get his weapons to the top of the building by hiding them in a footlocker loaded on a cart and pretending to be a serviceman….

“The only reported words of Whitman after he gained his firing perch were to Vera Palmer, who works in the observatory. As she stepped off the elevator, a man in a white shirt said: ‘Lady, don’t you dare get off this elevator.’ Mrs. Palmer rode back down. The woman she was to relieve, Edna Townsley, was later found dead at her post….” (AP. “Student Slays 15 From Tower Perch.” San Antonio Express, TX. 8-2-1966, p. 1.)

Fatalities

1. Ashton, Thomas Aquinas, 22, student
2. Boyer, Robert Hamilton, 33, visitor
3. Eckman, Thomas Frederick, 19, student
4. Gabour, Martin (Mark), 16, visitor (nephew of Marguerite Lamport)
5. Griffith, Karen, 17, died from bullet wound to the lung, Aug 9; shot on street.
6. Karr, Thomas Ray, 24, summer school student
7. Lamport, Marguerite, 45, visitor
8. Rutt, Claudia, 18, visitor (going to Co-op store looking for records)
9. Schmidt, Roy Dell, 29, City of Austin electrician on a service call
10. Sonntag, Paul Bolton, 18, (going with Claudia Rutt to Co-op to look for records)
11. Speed, Billy Paul, 24, Austin police officer
12. Townsley, Edna Elizabeth; tower receptionist on the observation deck
13. Walchuk, Harry, 38, doctoral student.
14. Whitman, Charles Joseph; gunman
15. Whitman, Kathy, 23; wife of Charles Whitman.
16. Whitman, Margaret, 63; mother of Charles Joseph Whitman, gunman
17. Wilson (unborn male; mother was Claire Wilson, 8 mo. pregnant, shot in abdomen)

Sources

Associated Press. “Sniper Kills 14.” Corsican Daily Sun, TX. 8-1-1966, p. 1. Accessed 4-28-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/corsicana-daily-sun-aug-01-1966-p-1/

Associated Press. “Student Slays 15 From Tower Perch.” San Antonio Express, TX. 8-2-1966, p. 1. Accessed 4-28-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/san-antonio-express-aug-02-1966-p-1/

Behind The Tower (webpage). “The Victims.” Accessed 4-28-2022 at: http://behindthetower.org/the-victims/

Flexner, Doris and Stuart Berg Flexner. A Pessimist’s Guide to History: An Irresistible Compendium of Catastrophes, Barbarities, Massacres, and Mayhem – From 14 Billion Years Ago to 2007. New York: Harper Collins, 2008. Partially digitized by Google at: http://books.google.com/books?id=tpeK8WZby0gC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Gandara, Ricardo. “Casting off shadow of UT Tower shooting.” American-Statesman, Austin, TX. 5-13-2011. Accessed 1-15-2013 at: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/casting-off-shadow-of-ut-tower-shooting-1/nRZ3G/

Minshew, Charles. “Interactive timeline: The worst mass shootings in U.S. history.” Denver Post, 7-20-2012. Accessed 7-22-2012: http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_21123777

Wikipedia. “Charles Whitman.” 4-26-2009 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman