1991 — Oct 16, Violence, Rampage Shooting, Luby’s Restaurant, Killeen, TX[1] –23-24

–23-24  Houston Chronicle. “Shooting rampage at Killeen Luby’s left 24 dead.” 8-11-2001.

—     23  Duwe, Grant.  Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007, p. 28.

—     23  LA Times (Hart & Wood). “23 Shot Dead at Texas Cafeteria: Massacre…” 10-17-1991.

—     23  Minshew, Charles.  “The worst mass shootings in U.S. history.” Denver Post, 7-20-2012

 

Narrative Information

 

Houston Chronicle, Aug 11, 2001: “Before Oct. 16, 1991, the Central Texas town of Killeen was perhaps best known for its proximity to the Army base at Fort Hood, and Luby’s was known only regionally as a popular cafeteria chain that served a wide variety of inexpensive dishes. But on that day, both came to be linked to what was then the worst mass murder in U.S. history.[2] At 12:45 p.m., 35-year-old George Hennard of nearby Belton drove his pickup truck through a window at the Killeen Luby’s and killed 24 people. His 15-minute rampage ended when he shot himself after being wounded by police officers….Hennard…[was] described as being bitter, disgruntled and deranged during the past several months – fatally shot himself after a Texas Department of Public Safety officer charged into the building and chased Hennard into a restroom.” (Houston Chronicle. “Shooting rampage at Killeen Luby’s left 24 dead.” 8-11-2001.)

 

LA Times, Oct 17, 1991: “Killeen, Tex. In the deadliest shooting spree in U.S. history, a man crashed his pickup truck into a cafeteria crowded with lunchtime patrons here Wednesday afternoon and began firing rapidly and indiscriminately with a semiautomatic pistol…. The massacre resulted in injuries to 20 others, many of them listed in “very critical condition.” The death toll passed by one the number killed by an out-of-work security guard in a McDonald’s restaurant in San Ysidro, Calif., seven years ago.

 

“….Officials said Hennard was armed with a 9-millimeter Glock 17, described as a lightweight, Austrian-made handgun now in use by many federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Marr said a second weapon, described as an empty Luger with the clip out and the firing chamber pulled back, was found on a tray on the serving line…. Some witnesses said Hennard fired up to 100 rounds inside the cafeteria, and Killeen Police Chief F. L. Giacomozzi said that “he wasn’t out of bullets when the officers got there.”

 

“Officials said the gunman smashed his blue truck through the eight-foot-high, plate-glass front window of Luby’s cafeteria, a red-brick, low-slung building just off the highway through this Central Texas town. At the time, the restaurant was unusually crowded with about 150 patrons and employees, including teachers and other workers treating their supervisors to lunch for national Boss’s Day….” (Los Angeles Times (Lianne Hart and Tracy Wood). “23 Shot Dead at Texas Cafeteria: Massacre…” 10-17-1991.)

 

Sources

 

Duwe, Grant. Mass Murder in the United States: A History. McFarland, 2007.

 

Houston Chronicle. “Shooting rampage at Killeen Luby’s left 24 dead.” 8-11-2001. Accessed 4-16-2016 at: http://www.chron.com/life/article/Shooting-rampage-at-Killeen-Luby-s-left-24-dead-2037092.php

 

Los Angeles Times (Lianne Hart and Tracy Wood, (LAT staff)). “23 Shot Dead at Texas Cafeteria: Massacre: A gunman drives his pickup through a window and opens fire with a semiautomatic handgun, in nation’s worst mass shooting. He is among the dead.” 10-17-1991. Accessed 4-16-2016 at: http://articles.latimes.com/1991-10-17/news/mn-740_1_worst-mass

 

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

 

 

 

[1] Twenty-three killed by Hennard, who then killed himself.

[2] 32 were killed at Virginia Tech in 2007 and 27 were killed at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.