ABSTRACT
August 1, 1966: Charles Whitman pointed a rifle from the observation deck of the University of Texas at Austin Tower and began shooting in a homicidal rampage that went on for 96 minutes. Born on June 24, 1941, in Lake Worth, Florida, Charles Whitman served as a Marine before enrolling in the University of Texas. Suffering from mental illness and acute fits of anger, Whitman killed his mother and wife, and then climbed atop the 300-foot tower, targeting people in the vicinity. He killed 16 people and injured 30 others before he was killed by two police officers, who stormed the tower. A trained sniper, Whitman shot most of his victims near or in the heart. The officers were assisted by a civilian with military experience who was deputized at the scene. In one of his writings, Whitman stated that he wanted his brain examined after his death to check for signs of a physical cause of his mental illness. His request was granted in the form of a police autopsy, which showed that he had a brain tumor. But medical experts disagreed over whether it had any effect on Whitman’s actions (Figure 8.1).
