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"KTBC news now presents a special program
on today's mass murder in the capital city.
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Here is KTBC television news editor Neil Spells."
"Good evening. One of history's worst mass murders
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occurred here in Austin today. My official count
tonight 49 persons were hit by gunfire. There
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are 16 dead and 33 injured. It started last..."
On August 1st 1966 chaotic news reports filled
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the airwaves of the United States about a mass
shooting taking place at the University of Texas.
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As the days wore on more information emerged as
to the shooter and the complete circumstances
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surrounding this event. It seemed as if no one
could stop the madman. Eventually called the
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University of Texas Tower shooting the highly
trained lone sniper had in 96 minutes killed
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15 people from distances of 500 yards and wounded
another 31 before he was finally silenced by two
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brave Austin City Police Department officers in
an epic gun battle that nearly cost them their own
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lives. The shooting would be the worst in American
history until the San Ysidro McDonald's Massacre
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on July 18. 1984. But how and why did it happen?
Who was Charles Joseph Whitman? What events in his
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life shaped his emotional development? What
motivated him to randomly shoot strangers?
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Hello I'm Colin Heaton a veteran of
the United States Army and Marine
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Corps former history professor book author and
welcome to this episode of Forgotten History.
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[Music]
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[Music]
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Charles Joseph Whitman was born on June 24. 1941
in Lake Worth Florida the eldest of three sons
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born to Charles Adolphus Whitman Jr. and his
wife Margaret Elizabeth Whitman. hHs father was
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born in 1919 and had been abandoned as a child and
raised in a boy's orphanage in Savannah. Georgia.
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Despite this beginning he ran a successful
plumbing business with wife Margaret employed as
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his bookkeeper. Young Charles and his siblings
endured a torturous yet financially stable
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childhood as their father was an abusive alcoholic
and well known in town for being a tyrant.
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In fact one of the Whitman's neighbors won Judy
Faulch stated that she was "unable to recollect
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the sheer number of times her own parents had
called police in the 1940s and 50s in response
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to Whitman's father beating his wife children
and family pets." Whitman was an extremely
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intelligent child and he did well in school. He
became a Boy Scout at age 11 becoming an eagle
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scout three months after his 12th birthday. In
this achievement he is reportedly the youngest
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scout ever to earn this rank as fast as he did
at that time and in the shortest time span.
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Graduating from Saint Ann's High School in West
Palm Beach in June 1959 Whitman graduated 7th out
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of a class of 72 students. Not long afterward he
and several friends became very intoxicated and
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upon returning home his father severely beat him
and then threw him into the family swimming pool.
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Deciding to leave home Whitman enlisted in the
United States Marine Corps and was assigned to
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Guantanamo Bay. Cuba where he was an outstanding
Marine. In 1961 he was awarded a scholarship
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approved and funded by the Naval Enlisted Science
Education Program and enrolled in the University
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of Texas at Austin which was one path to getting
an officer's commission and he studied mechanical
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engineering. The post shooting investigation into
his background brought many interesting things
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to light. Whitman was considered a friendly
person by his classmates with a good sense of
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humor although tinged with a dark side. One of
his fellow students Francis Shuck Jr. has said
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that Whitman once looked out of their dormitory
window at the tower on campus and said to him,
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"a person could stand off an army from
the top of it before they got to him."
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While he was at the university he met a
fellow student Kathleen Francis Leissner
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and they were married on August 17, 1962
in Saint Michael's Catholic Church in
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Needville. Texas six months after their first
meeting. They honeymooned in New Orleans.
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Whitman's seemingly relaxed attitude to his
studies probably from distractions resulted in
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his scholarship being revoked for substandard
performance. His new duty assignment was at
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Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where he would
complete his enlistment. In November 1963 he
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was subjected to a court martial after being
caught in gambling in the barracks and working
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as a loan shark to other Marines. Due to a
lack of evidence and witnesses to testify the
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charges were dropped and he managed to reach lance
corporal before being discharged in December 1964.
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He and his wife returned to Austin, Texas in March
1965 and he re-enrolled back in school studying
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architectural engineering while his wife became
a biology teacher at nearby Lanier High School.
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Also during this period he managed to obtain
his real estate license while taking a full
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academic load of 12 to 15 semester hours. In March
1966 Whitman went to Florida to help his mother
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pack as she was leaving and divorcing his father
after 25 years of abuse. Whitman even had a local
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policeman at the home in case his father became
violent towards him or her as she was trying to
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leave which given his recorded history was a very
good idea. This was just one more weight added to
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Whitman's personal life and as a result of all the
pressure he was experiencing as well as frequent
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migraine headaches he entered therapy with a
campus psychiatrist named Dr Maurice Heatley. This
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would be the only professional psychological help
Whitman pursued. The investigation also showed
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that at 6:45 pm on July 31, 1966 Whitman typed the
first of two notes. In these he explained how and
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why he would kill his wife and mother prior to the
shooting spree. Another revelation was that he was
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interrupted while typing these suicide notes
by two friends named Larry and Elaine Fuess.
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Both later stated that Whitman "seemed
particularly relieved about something you
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know as if he's solved a problem," and that twice
during the visit Whitman had said "it's a shame
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Kathleen should have to work all day and then come
home to..." but he never completed his sentences.
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After a few hours the Fuesses left so Whitman
could drive his wife home from her part-time
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job as a switchboard operator. It is believed
that upon arriving at home Kathleen Whitman
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went directly to bed. The post event investigation
also surmised that around 12:30 a.m Whitman drove
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to his mother's apartment on Guadalupe Street
near the university and stabbed her to death.
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He then covered her with the bed sheets and placed
her on the bed and then placed the second of the
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two notes upon a yellow legal pad beside her bed.
He returned home around 3:00 a.m. and repeatedly
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stabbed his wife through the heart as she was
asleep and he also left the first note which
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was handwritten. In both notes he stated that he
loved them both but killed them to spare them the
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humiliation of his pending actions. In the note
left with his mother he stated that "he wanted to
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alleviate her suffering after decades of abuse by
his father." He also clearly stated his "intense
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hatred beyond description for his father because
of the years of physical and emotional abuse."
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What he did for the next few hours is unknown
but later in the first morning hours he stopped
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and rented a hand truck. He then drove to his bank
and cashed several bad checks totaling 250 dollars
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worth about two thousand five hundred dollars
today one from his own account and the other
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from his mother's account. At 9:00 he drove to
a hardware store and purchased a .30 caliber
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Universal M1 Caribbean, a weapon with which
he had become a sharpshooter in the Marines,
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two extra magazines and eight boxes of
ammunition. He told the cashier that he
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was going to Florida to hunt wild hogs. 30
minutes later he drove to Chuck's Gun Shop,
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purchased four more magazines, six additional
boxes of ammunition, a can of gun cleaning
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solvent and then he drove to a Sears Roebuck store
where he bought a 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun.
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Whitman then returned to his garage at home
and sawed off the butt stock and barrel of
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the shotgun. He then placed all these items
as well as cans of food, coffee, vitamins,
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Dexedrine, Excedrin, earplugs, three and a half
gallons of water, matches, lighter fluid, rope,
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binoculars, a machete, three knives, a small
Channel Master transistor radio, toilet paper,
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a razor, a bottle of deodorant, a Remington 700
6 millimeter bolt action hunting rifle with a
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Leupold M8 4x scope and a .35 caliber pump rifle,
a nine millimeter Luger pistol, a Galesi- Brescia
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.25 caliber pistol, a Smith and Wesson M19 .357
magnum revolver and 700 rounds of ammunition into
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his Marine Corps foot locker. He was also dressed
in blue nylon khaki coveralls over his shirt and
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jeans so that people would think that he was a
janitor a repairman or delivery man or some other
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service person so as to not arouse any suspicion
when he arrived at the University at 11:25 a.m.
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When he arrived he showed a campus guard
a fake research assistant identification
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card so that he could get a 40-minute parking
space as he "was delivering teaching equipment
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to a professor" which would explain the foot
locker. He then went to the main building of
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the university and is believed to have entered the
lower tower entrance between 11:30 and 11:35 a.m.
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This may have been timed to coincide with the
11:45 student-class changeover which would
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have provided more targets. When he entered
he found that the elevator did not work. An
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employee named Vera Palmer later stated that
she thought he was a repairman and she told
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him that the elevator had been turned off
so she turned the switch on to activate it.
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Whitman smiled as he thanked Palmer stating.
"Thank you ma'am. You don't know how happy that
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makes me" several times. He reached the 27th floor
and ruled the dolly with the foot locker up a
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final flight of stairs to a hallway leading to the
observation deck. In a series of strange events
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Whitman encountered the 51 year old receptionist
Edna Townsley inside the reception area.
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He then beat her into unconsciousness splitting
her skull with his rifle butt and then dragged her
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still breathing body behind the sofa. While doing
so a couple named Donald Walden and Cheryl Botts
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entered the room from the observation deck as he
leaned over the couch. Botts later stated to the
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police that she and Walden believed Whitman was
about to shoot pigeons being that he was armed.
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She simply smiled and greeted Whitman who
smiled back and said "Hi how are you?" as
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if nothing had happened, despite both Walden
and Botts both seeing the dark bloodstains
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on the carpet and according to their statements
they both just assumed it was varnish or paint.
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After they left Whitman barricaded the door
leading to the lounge using Townsley's desk,
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two chairs and a waste basket. As he was entering
the observation deck a vacationing Texarkana,
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Arkansas family were leaving and they tried
to get past his hastily made barricade.
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One of the family members 16 year old Mark Gabour
tried to push the entrance to the staircase open
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and Whitman fired with his shotgun killing
the boy and his 56 year old Aunt Marguerite
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Lamport and seriously wounding 19-year-old
Michael Gabor and his 41 year old mother Mary.
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Whitman then repaired his barricade. The father
48 year old Michael Gabour Sr. and William Lamport
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were both uninjured and ran from the stairwell
before attempting to provide care for their
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family members then they ran for help. Mr Gabour
then met Mary Palmer exiting an elevator on the
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27th floor she was coming to the receptionist
position to relieve Edna Townsley as it was her
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shift. Gabour told Palmer what had happened and
she returned to the ground floor to get help.
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Whitman must have known that the alarm
would be raised so he completed the
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barricade repair and then fired a shot
into Townsley's head to finish her off.
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At around 11:46 a.m he placed his foot
locker in the six foot wide observation
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deck and wedged the dolly against the door
which was the only avenue of approach.
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He then put on a white headband and placed
his weapons around all four sides of the deck
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for immediate access. He was 231 feet above the
Plaza and began shooting at 11:48. The first
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person he shot was an 18 year old Claire Wilson
who is eight months pregnant killing the child.
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She survived. All of his victims were between the
ages of 17 and 64. Both students and passers-by.
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Most of Whitman's victims were shot within
the first 15 minutes of his shooting spree.
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Most were shot either on the campus or across
the plaza on Guadalupe Street which the locals
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called "The Drag" where shoppers entered the
stores, cafes and a couple of bookstores.
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There was some mass confusion as many who heard
the shots thought the noise was from a nearby
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construction site. Soon the word spread and the
response was rapid. Several ambulances were called
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including hearses from a nearby funeral home
and a bank delivery armored car drove into the
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line of fire to try and rescue the victims. Some
bystanders braved the fire and went to assist the
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wounded and dying. Four minutes after he started
shooting the police arrived and located the source
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of the fire and they maintained good suppressive
fire forcing Whitman to keep his head down.
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His only viewpoints were through the three large
storm drains at the bottom of the four foot high
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observation deck walls. One of the first
to arrive was 23 year old Austin patrolman
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Billy Speed who along with another officer took
a position behind a columned stone wall. Whitman
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calmly shot through a six-inch space between the
two columns and killed Speed with a chest shot.
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Whitman still had a rather clear field of fire and
targets were plentiful. One of his next victims
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was 29 year old electrical repairman Roy Dell
Schmidt who was killed 500 yards from the tower
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as well as a 30-year-old funeral director
named Morris Hohmann who was seriously
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wounded as he hid behind the ambulance where he
had transported people to the various hospitals.
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The police brought in sharpshooter Marion Lee
who boarded a Champion Citabria a two-seat light
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aircraft hoping to get in close enough to get a
clear shot as the light plane circled the tower.
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The problem was that it was a very hot day and the
thermals rising upward did not provide a stable
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platform buffeting the aircraft but he stayed
overhead as a distraction to interrupt Whitman's
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shooting and hopefully minimize casualties. One
man was a retired Air Force tail gunner Alan
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Crum who treated teenager Alex Hernandez who was
wounded just outside the University Bookstore that
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he managed. He went to the scene near the base of
the tower where Whitman did not have a clear line
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of sight and met with Department of Public Safety
agent William Cowan and Austin Police Officer
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Jerry Day. They went up the elevator and Cowan
gave Crum a rifle. Officer Ramiro Martinez was off
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duty that day and at home when he heard the news
on the radio so he arrived and joined Crum, Day in
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Cowan and they all met on the 26th floor and were
greeted by officers Jack Rodman and Leslie Gebert.
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They had been talking with Mr. Gabour who
told them what happened to his family.
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Rodman and Gebert returned to ground level and
told Vera Palmer to hit all elevator buttons,
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"shut them down" while Martinez and Crum ascended
and continued to the observation deck. Crum
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asked "Are we playing for keeps?" Martinez
responded "You're damned right we are," to
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which Crum replied, "Well you better deputize me."
Martinez replied "Consider yourself deputized."
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When they arrived they found the bodies of
Marguerite Lamport and Mark Gabour and the
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wounded Mary Gabour and her son Michael wounded
but coherent. He pointed and told them "He's up
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there." After treating Mary Gabour they continued
and found the dead Edna Townsley. Martinez and
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Crum were joined by McCoy going left after
Martinez and Day flanking on Crum's right with
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Crum covering the middle. Crum hearing Whitman's
footsteps fired a shot to distract Whitman and
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gave the flanking officers more time. Whitman
was spotted by Martinez who fired all six shots
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from his service revolver missing Whitman as McCoy
broke cover and fired at Whitman's white headband
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hitting him between the eyes with several pellets
from his shotgun. McCoy then fired a second time
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striking Whitman on his left side. Whitman
fell to the ground and Martinez then grabbed
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McCoy's shotgun and ran to Whitman and fired
into Whitman's left arm at point blank range.
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All the while the officers on the ground had
been firing up into the tower and they were
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unaware that Whitman was already dead. Crum broke
out his white handkerchief as the police radioed
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down that it was over and a sense of explainable
irony due to the confusion the Austin reporters
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broadcast that the sniper was waving a white flag
to surrender which was not the case. By 3:00 p.m.
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the event was on national radio and Whitman's
father called in to tell them that it was in
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fact his son. He also gave them the names and
addresses of his son, his wife and his ex-wife.
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The police arrived at both locations to make
notifications and found the bodies and the notes,
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then the investigation started. Dr. Heatley came
forward and told the authorities of his contacts
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with Whitman. The FBI and local police studied
Dr Heatley's notes. What they learned was that
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Whitman was a man full of self-loathing over the
fact that he had twice struck his wife during
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their marriage and he feared that he'd become like
his father. Whitman apparently had an egocentric
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persona and he had constantly pushed himself
to be better than others in every endeavor.
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The notes from Dr. Heatley also Illustrated that
he had been oozing with hostility throughout his
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session where Whitman had discussed fantasies of
shooting random people from the observation deck
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of the University of Texas tower. This would
prove to be the sole occasion in which Whitman
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sought any professional help pertaining to the
sources of frustration and pressure in his life.
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He was also under great mental strain
due to his father calling him often
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drunk almost every day demanding that he
convince his mother to return to Florida.
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During Whitman's autopsy a pecan-sized tumor was
located in the white matter above his amygdala
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but the tumor was not connected to any
sensory nerves. It was because of this
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tumor that some experts believe that may
have contributed to the violent impulses
00:20:10
that Whitman had demonstrated over several
years prior to the Texas Tower of Massacre.
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The tragedy of that day is
still felt in Austin, Texas.
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Whitman killed 17 people in total and wounded 31
others. A 17-year-old named Karen Joan Griffith
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died from her injuries one week later and David
Hubert Gunby shot from the tower at age 23 died
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from complications from his wound 35 years later
and his death was officially ruled a homicide.
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Whitman carefully chose his killing ground.
He made sure that he had clear avenues
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of approach and sealed off his rear area
which also eliminated any chance of escape
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that that was not his intention. he became the
first so-labeled mass shooter in U.S history.
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Unfortunately he would not be the last.
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Thank you for watching Forgotten History.
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