Charles Whitman

Charles Joseph Whitman (June 24, 1941 – August 1, 1966) was a student at the University of Texas at Austin who killed 14 people and wounded 31 others as part of a shooting rampage on and around the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Three were killed inside the University's tower and ten killed from the observation deck of the University's 32-story administrative building on August 1, 1966; one died a week later from her wounds. He did this shortly after murdering his wife and mother at their homes. He was eventually shot and killed by Austin Police Officer Houston McCoy,^[1] assisted by Austin Police Officer Ramiro Martinez.

Whitman's early life was one of upper middle class stature. The father owned a successful plumbing contract business in Lake Worth, Florida and his family had most of the material needs and desires that they needed. Whitman excelled at academic achievements and was well liked by his peers and neighbors. There were underlying dysfunctional issues within the family that escalated over time. Primarily, the father was an authoriatarian who demanded success's from all of his family members and was known to exercize his authority with mental and physical abuses.

The development stages of Whitman were erratic, and privately, he developed values that echoed both his father's domineering personality while trying to incorporate the nurturing values of the mother. Eventually, through the course of time and acquisition, Whitman would form a schema that caused him confusion and frustration that affected his own values, which intersected the varying differences of the mother and father.

Although the above issues were of no degree to cause his actions on August 1, 1966, his health, family deterioration, and heavy use of Amphetamines to stay awake for days at a time to study, finally forced their weight on him. Between the brain tumor and all the other previously mentioned issues, Whitman was driven by his failures in the Marines, as a student at the University of Texas, personal expectations and psychotic features he expressed in his type written note left at 906 Jewel Street, Austin, Texas, dated both July 31, 1966 and later by hand "3 A.M., both dead August 1, 1966".

Background

Reports from childhood neighbors said that Whitman liked toy guns.[2]

Whitman's father had an extensive gun collection and taught all of his sons how to shoot, clean and maintain guns. From an early age (see photo), Charles had been exposed to guns and never had any recorded incident of mis-use or abuse of gun use.

The eldest of three brothers raised on South L Street in Lake Worth, Florida, Whitman, who had scored 138 on an IQ test at the age of 6, attended St. Ann's High School in West Palm Beach, where he was a pitcher on the school's baseball team.^[3] He took five years of piano lessons,^[4] and enjoyed playing with toy guns.^[2]

All three brothers served as altar boys at Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church,^[5] and Whitman chose the Confirmation name Joseph for himself.^[6] As a 12-year-old, he was among the youngest ever to achieve Eagle Scout and one of the first in Lake Worth to do so, to his father's delight.^[7][8] When Whitman was 14 and still serving as an altar boy, his Scout leader, Joseph Leduc, completed seminary and served as the priest of Sacred Heart for a month. Leduc, later a confidant of Whitman, was a family friend who had accompanied Whitman and his father on several hunting trips. At the age of 16, Whitman underwent a routine appendectomy and was hospitalized following a motorcycle accident.^[9]

Against his father's wishes, Whitman joined the Marines on July 6, 1959. He explained to Fr. Leduc that he had come home drunk several weeks earlier and his father had hit him repeatedly and pushed him into the family's swimming pool. While Whitman was aboard a train headed towards Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, his father telephoned "some branch of Federal Government" to have his son's enlistment canceled, but was rebuffed.^[5]

Following enlistment, Whitman entered the mechanical engineering program at the University of Texas on September 15, 1961, through a USMC scholarship. His hobbies at this point included karate, scuba diving, and hunting.^[10] This last hobby got him into trouble at the University when he was involved in a prank in which he shot a deer, dragged it to his dormitory, and skinned it in his shower.^[5] As a result of both this incident and sub-standard grades, Whitman's scholarship was withdrawn in 1963.^[11]

In August 1962, Whitman married Kathleen Frances Leissner, another University of Texas student, in a wedding that was held in Leissner's hometown of Needville, Texas, and presided over by Fr. Leduc. The following year, he returned to active duty at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, where he was both promoted to Lance Corporal and involved in an accident in which his Jeep rolled over an embankment. After rescuing his pinned comrade, Whitman was hospitalized for four days.^[9] That November, Whitman was court-martialed for gambling, possessing a personal firearm on base, and threatening another Marine over a $30 loan for which Whitman demanded $15 interest. He was sentenced to 30 days of confinement and 90 days of hard labor and was demoted to the rank of Private.^[12]

In December 1964, Whitman was honorably discharged from the Marines and returned to the University of Texas, this time enrolling in its architectural engineering program. Now lacking his scholarship, Whitman worked first as a bill collector for Standard Finance Company and later as a bank teller at Austin National Bank. By 1965, he had taken a temporary job with Central Freight Lines and worked as a traffic surveyor for the Texas Highway Department. He also volunteered as a Scoutmaster for Austin Scout Troop 5 while Kathy worked as a biology teacher at Lanier High School.

Family issues

Whitman in a better time.

Whitman's father, Charles A. Whitman, was raised at the Bethesda School For Boys in Savannah, Georgia. He met his wife, Margaret, in Savannah and married there. She was a devoted Roman Catholic while his religious views were unformed. They would eventually move to Lake Worth, Florida, where he opened a sewage plumbing business and bought a home. Charles (the son), Patrick, and John were all born and raised in Lake Worth.

In 1966, Whitman's mother announced she was obtaining a divorce. Whitman drove to Florida to help his mother move to Austin, Texas, where she found work in a cafeteria. The move prompted his youngest brother John to move out as well. Meanwhile, his brother Patrick decided to continue living with their father, whose plumbing supply business employed him.

Whitman's father began to telephone Whitman several times a week, pleading with him to convince his mother to give the marriage another try, but Whitman refused.

Shortly afterward, John was arrested for throwing a rock through a window and released after paying a $25 fine.^[3]

Declining health

Whitman's daily journal.

In 1966, Whitman discussed his health concerns with University doctor Jan Cochrun, who prescribed Valium and recommended he visit campus psychiatrist Maurice Dean Heatly. On March 29, 1966, Whitman met with Heatly and spent an hour explaining his frustration with his parents' separation, past military history, uncontrollable feelings of hostility, and his increasing strains at work and school. During the interview, he made a remark about feeling the urge to "start shooting people with a deer rifle" from the university tower. Heatly noted that Whitman, who never returned, was "oozing with hostility."^[12] Whitman mentioned the visit with Heatly in his final suicide notes, saying that it was to "no avail." By the summer, Whitman was prescribed Dexedrine.

Although Whitman had been prescribed drugs, the autopsy could not establish if he had consumed any prior to the attacks. Whitman's bodily fluids had been removed and his body embalmed prior to the autopsy, so there was no urine to test for the amphetamines. However, it was revealed during the autopsy that Whitman had a cancerous glioblastoma tumor in the hypothalamus region of his brain. Some have theorized that it may have been pressed against the nearby amygdala, which can have an effect on fight/flight responses. This has led some neurologists to speculate that his medical condition was in some way responsible for the attacks, as well as his personal and social frames of reference.^[13]

After the attacks, a study of Whitman's journal revealed that Whitman lamented that he had acted violently towards Kathy, and that he was resolved both to be a good husband and to not follow his father's abusive example. However, John and Fran Morgan, close friends of Whitman's, later told the Texas Department of Public Safety that he had confided in them that he had struck Kathy on three occasions.^[14]

Lead-up to the tower shootings

The day before the shootings, Whitman purchased binoculars and a knife from Davis' Hardware, as well as Spam from a 7-Eleven store. He then picked up his wife from her summer job as a Bell operator, and they went to a matinée before meeting his mother for lunch at her job.

Around 4:00 p.m., they went to visit friends John and Fran Morgan, who lived in the same neighborhood. They left at approximately 5:30 so that Kathy Whitman could leave for her 6:00-10:00 p.m. shift that night. At 6:45, Whitman began typing his suicide note, a portion of which read:^[14]

I do not quite understand what it is that compels me to type this letter. Perhaps it is to leave some vague reason for the actions I have recently performed. I do not really understand myself these days. I am supposed to be an average reasonable and intelligent young man. However, lately (I cannot recall when it started) I have been a victim of many unusual and irrational thoughts.^[14]

The note explained that he had decided to murder both his mother and wife, but made no mention of the coming attacks at the university. Expressing uncertainty about his actual reasons, he nevertheless observed that he felt he wanted to relieve them from the suffering of this world.

He also requested that an autopsy be done after his death, to determine if there had been anything to explain his actions and increasing headaches. He willed any money from his estate to mental health research, saying that he hoped it would prevent others from following his route.

Just after midnight, he killed his mother Margaret. The exact method is disputed, but it seemed he had rendered her unconscious before stabbing her in the heart. He returned to his suicide note, now writing by hand:

To Whom It May Concern: I have just taken my mother's life. I am very upset over having done it. However, I feel that if there is a heaven she is definitely there now...I am truly sorry...Let there be no doubt in your mind that I loved this woman with all my heart.

Whitman returned to his home at 906 Jewell Street and stabbed his wife Kathy three times in the heart as she slept, leaving another note that read:

I imagine it appears that I brutally killed both of my loved ones. I was only trying to do a quick thorough job...If my life insurance policy is valid please pay off my debts...donate the rest anonymously to a mental health foundation. Maybe research can prevent further tragedies of this type.

He wrote notes to each of his brothers and his father and left instructions in the apartment that the two canisters of film he left on the table should be developed, and the puppy Schocie should be given to Kathy's parents.

Tower shootings

Whitman arrives at the Tower

Whitman's rifles and sawed off shotgun taken to the tower, not in order to the list at right.

Whitman's .357 Magnum - taken from his body by APD Officer Jerry Day.

At 5:45 a.m. on Monday, August 1, 1966, Whitman phoned Kathy's supervisor at Bell to explain that she was sick and could not make her shift that day. He made a similar phone call to Margaret's workplace about five hours later.

Whitman rented a dolly from Austin Rental Company and cashed $250 worth of checks at the bank before returning to Davis' Hardware and purchasing an M1 Carbine, explaining that he wanted to go hunting for wild hogs. He also went to Sears and purchased a shotgun and a green rifle case. After sawing off the shotgun barrel while chatting with postman Chester Arrington, Whitman packed it together with a Remington 700 bolt-action hunting rifle with a 4x Leupold Scope, the M1 Carbine, a 6mm Remington rifle, three pistols, and various other equipment stowed between a wooden crate and his Marine footlocker. Before heading to the tower, he put khaki coveralls on over his shirt and jeans and under a green jacket. Once in the tower, he also donned a white sweatband.^[15]

Pushing the rented dolly carrying his equipment, Whitman met security guard Jack Rodman and obtained a parking pass, claiming he had a delivery to make and showing Rodman a card identifying him as a research assistant for the school. He entered the Main Building shortly after 11:30 a.m., where he struggled with the elevator until employee Vera Palmer informed him that it had not been powered and turned it on for him. He thanked her and took the elevator to the 27th floor of the tower, just one floor beneath the clock face.^[4]

Whitman then lugged the dolly up one long flight of stairs to the hallway that led to a dog-legged stairway that went up to the rooms within the observation deck area. Edna Townsley, was the receptionist on duty and observed Whitman's trunk and asked if he had his University work identification. He then knocked her unconscious with the butt of his rifle and dragged her body behind a couch; she later died from her injuries at Seton Hospital. Moments later, Cheryl Botts and Don Walden, a young couple who had been sightseeing on the deck, returned to the receptionist area and encountered Whitman, who was holding a rifle in each hand. Botts later claimed that she believed that the large red stain on the floor was varnish, and that Whitman was there to shoot pigeons. Whitman and the young couple exchanged hellos and the couple left for the elevators. When they were gone, Whitman barricaded the stairway.

Shortly afterwards, two families, the Gabours and Lamports, were on their way up the stairs when they encountered the barricade. Michael Gabour was attempting to look beyond the barricade when Whitman fired the sawed-off shotgun at him, hitting him in the left neck and shoulder region, sending him over the staircase railing onto other family members. Whitman fired the sawed-off shotgun two more times through grates on the stairway into the families as they tried to run back down the stairs. Mark Gabour and his aunt Marguerite Lamport died instantly; Michael was partially disabled and his mother was permanently disabled.

Sniper fire commences

Main building of the University of Texas at Austin. Guadalupe Street is out of frame to the right. (Dobie Center, in the background, was not constructed until 1972.)

The first shots from the tower's outer deck came at approximately 11:48 a.m. A history professor was the first to phone the Austin Police Department, after seeing several students shot in the South Mall gathering center; many others had dismissed the rifle reports, not realizing there actually was gunfire. Eventually, the shootings caused panic as news spread and, after the situation was understood, all active police officers in Austin were ordered to the campus. Other off-duty officers, Travis County Sheriff's deputies, and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers also converged on the area to assist.

Once Whitman began facing return gunfire from the authorities and civilians who had brought out their personal firearms to assist police, he used the waterspouts on each side of the tower as gun ports, allowing him to continue shooting largely protected from the gunfire below but also greatly limiting his range of targets. Ramiro Martinez, an officer who confronted Whitman, later stated in his book that the civilian shooters should be credited, as they made it difficult for Whitman to take careful aim without being hit.^[16] Police lieutenant and sharpshooter Marion Lee reported from a small airplane that there was only one sniper firing from the parapet. The plane circled the tower, trying to get a shot at Whitman, but the turbulence shook the plane too badly for him to get Whitman in his sight. As the airplane took fire, Lee asked the pilot, Jim Boutwell, to back away, but "stay close enough to offer him a target and keep him worried." The airplane, which was hit by Whitman's rifle, continued to circle the tower from a safe distance until the end of the incident.

Whitman's choice of victims was indiscriminate, and most of them were shot on Guadalupe Street, a major commercial and business district across from the west side of the campus. Efforts to reach the wounded included an armored car and ambulances run by local funeral homes. Ambulance driver Morris Hohmann was responding to victims on West 23rd Street when he was shot in the leg, severing an artery. Another ambulance driver quickly attended to Hohmann, who was then taken about ten blocks south of UT to Brackenridge Hospital and the only local emergency room. The Brackenridge administrator declared an emergency, and medical staff raced there to reinforce the on-duty shifts. Following the shootings, volunteers donated blood at both Brackenridge and the Travis County Blood Bank.

Whitman's death

Whitman after the shotgun blasts. Heads by McCoy - left arm shot point blank by Martinez.

South door that Whitman barricaded. This was the only door used by Whitman and the Police.

After tending to wounded in the stairwell area between the 27th and 28th floors, APD Officers Milton Shoquist, Harold Moe, and George Shepard were making their way up the stairs to join APD Officer Phillip Conner and Texas Department of Public Safety Agent W. A. "Dub" Cowan, both arriving in the tower’s 28th floor observation deck reception room just as APD Officers Houston McCoy and Jerry Day and a civilian, Allen Crum, were following APD Officer Ramiro Martinez out the south door onto the observation deck. Martinez, closely followed by McCoy, proceeded north on the east deck while Day, followed by Crum, proceeded west on the south deck. Several feet before reaching the southwest corner area, Crum accidentally discharged a shot from his borrowed rifle at the same time Martinez jumped onto the northeast corner area, and rapidly fired all six rounds from his .38 police revolver. As Martinez was firing, McCoy jumped just to the right of Martinez and with his 12 gauge shotgun, fired two fatal 00 buck shots into the head, neck, and left side of Whitman, who was sitting with his back towards the north wall in the northwest corner area approximately fifty feet distance. He was partially shielded by the observation deck tower lights and in a position to defend a confrontation from either the northeast corner or the southwest corner. Martinez threw his empty revolver onto the deck, grabbed McCoy’s shotgun, ran to the prone body of Whitman and fired a point blank shot into the upper left arm. Martinez then threw the shotgun on the deck and hurriedly left the scene repeatedly shouting, "I got him." Moe with a hand held radio that had not functioned inside the building, on hearing Martinez as he ran past, relayed Martinez’s words to the APD radio dispatcher. ^{[17] [18] [19][20]}

Autopsy

At a funeral home the next day an autopsy was performed as requested in Whitman's suicide note and approved by Whitman's father, Charles Adolf Whitman, and performed by Dr. Chenar. A brain tumor was found and initially reported as an astrocytoma brain tumor.^[14] Whitman, in the note, wanted to have the examination to help prevent future tragedies as the one he was about to commit. Governor John Connally had a task force commission assembled that included neurologists and other psychiatric professionals who re-examined Dr. Chenar's findings and found that Chenar had mis-identified the tumor. The commission found that Whitman had been suffering from a glioblastoma, a highly cancerous and deadly tumor. This has led to speculation that the tumor may have been contributory to his rampage.^[21]

In the 1960s, persons diagnosed with glioblastoma had an expected prognosis of dying from the tumor within one year. Symptoms of the tumor include headaches and nausea, about which Whitman had complained to friends, family and the University of Texas Health Center.^[22]

Whitman and his mother shared a funeral service officiated by Fr. Tom Anglim at his home parish of Sacred Heart in Lake Worth. Due to his status as a veteran Marine, Whitman had a casket draped with an American flag for his burial in Section 16 of the Hillcrest Memorial Park in West Palm Beach, Florida.^[23]

Casualties

Main article: List of Charles Whitman's victims

Killed

Controversial death attributed to Whitman

• David Gunby, survived the initial shooting but required life-long dialysis as a result of his injuries. More than 35 years after the shooting, he announced he was quitting dialysis and died within a week.^[24] The controversy concerns the length of life Gunby had after the shooting and his decision to announce to family and the hospital that he had decided to stop treatment and his death soon after. There is no information as to whether or not other circumstances or ailments outside of the shooting may have existed to render his decision or whether his death 30 years later could be attributed solely to Whitman.

Wounded

Aftermath and historical damage

Chief Robert "Bob" Miles, of the Austin Police Department, had been monitoring the events from his office. After the shootings began, the local media, including today's Austin American Statesman and Associated Press, were hounding the Chief for information. Since there was no communication coming from the tower, and only the local media coverage on TV and radio, the office was having trouble keeping up with the demands of the press to give information it did not have.

Once the confrontation with Whitman and Officers McCoy and Martinez was over, Martinez ran from the scene past other APD Officers in the tower yelling that he had got him. Immediately, Officer Harold Moe, who was the only one with a communication radio, responded by notifying the chief's office that the situation was over, and that Martinez claimed to have killed Whitman. In order to appease the media and get them to stop hounding the office for information, Miles gave a news release that the siege was over and that Martinez was the officer who had ended it. This premature releasing of incorrect information, was the genesis for interdepartmental problems. Martinez never disputed the information, in light of the fact that the other officers did. Chief Miles, several years later, would recant the account and correct the information to say that McCoy had actually killed Whitman.^[25]

The event dominated the national and international news that day. Together with the Watts riots of the early 1960s, the Charles Whitman shootings were considered the impetus for establishing SWAT teams and other task forces to deal with situations beyond normal police procedures. It also led President Lyndon B. Johnson to call for stricter gun control policies.^[6]

After the shooting, the Tower observation deck was closed for two years, reopening in 1968. However, after several suicides, it was closed again in 1974 and remained closed until September 15, 1999. Access to the tower is now tightly controlled through guided tours that are scheduled by appointment only, during which metal detectors and other security measures are in place. Repaired scars from bullets are still visible on the limestone walls.

Houston McCoy was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 1998 by a doctor from the Department of Veterans Affairs in Waco, Texas, who attributed the condition to the tower shooting three decades earlier. As of 2007, he is living in western Texas.^[26] Ramiro Martinez became a narcotics investigator, a Texas Ranger, and a Justice of the Peace in New Braunfels, Texas. In 2003, Martinez published his memoirs, entitled, They Call Me Ranger Ray: From the UT Tower Sniper to Corruption in South Texas.^[16]

On November 12, 2001, David Gunby died of long-term kidney complications from a wound he received while on the South Mall. He had been born with only one functioning kidney, and it was nearly destroyed by Whitman's shot. Facing the prospect of losing his eyesight in 2001, he refused further treatment and died shortly thereafter. The Tarrant County Coroner's report listed the cause of death as "homicide." Some have suggested that the Coroner was seeking publicity since Gunby had made the decision to stop treatment and therefore sanctioned his own suicide.^[27]

There is still ongoing controversy and speculation that not all the relevant facts about Whitman have been revealed. His surviving victims and witnesses to the shooting continue to write about their recollections of that day and their ongoing physical and psychological trauma.^[28][29][30]

The University of Texas and the Governor's Report of August 8, 1966

During Whitman's command of the tower, the university became aware that the shooter may have been a student. Once the identity of Whitman was released, officials of the university did a search of Whitman's records and found that Whitman had been to the University Health Center on several occasions. On March 29, 1966, Whitman had a session with Dr. Maurice Heatley, an employee and psychiatrist at the University's Health Center in Austin. Whitman references the visit in his typewritten letter found at his residence at 906 Jewell Street, Austin, TX and dated July 31, 1966:

"I talked with a Doctor once for about two hours (sic) and tried to convey to him my fears that I felt come (sic, probably meant "some") overwhelming violent impulses^[14] After one visit, I never saw the Doctor again, and since then have been fighting my mental turmoil alone, and seemingly to no avail."

Dr. Heatley's notes on the visit confirmed the visit with Whitman, reflecting his claim of hostilities: "This massive, muscular youth seemed to be oozing with hostility...that something seemed to be happening to him and that he didn't seem to be himself." Dr. Heatley also referenced an ominous statement that Whitman did not refer to in his letter, "He readily admits having overwhelming periods of hostility with a very minimum provocation... his exact experiences were not to successful with the exception of his vivid reference to "thinking about going up in the tower and shooting people with a deer rifle." Whitman never visited Dr. Heatley again.

Almost immediately, Gov. John Conally commissioned a task force of professionals to examine the facts surrounding Whitman's actions and possible motives. The commission was composed of neurosurgeons, psychiatrists, psychologists and the University of Texas Health Center Director, Dr. White, as well as Dr. Maurice Heatley, the last known person to treat Whitman prior to the event. The Commission found that Dr. Chenar's initial autopsy was in error, that the glioblastoma tumor conceivably could have had an influence on his actions (pgs. 10-11),^[14] and that the vascular formation of veins around the area of the tumor may have been a congenital formation, suggesting that the tumor had been dormant and suddenly appeared due to the necrosis that surrounded the tumor. This suggested that Whitman was predisposed to develop the tumor and die at an early age, whether he had gone on the rampage or not.^[14]

Dedications and ceremonies

University of Texas "Memorial" Garden

In 2003, the University of Texas, committed USD$200,000 and sought another USD$800,000 to redesign the "Memorial Garden" that was dedicated in recognition of the events on and around the campus on August 1, 1966. After years of neglecting to recognize the significance of the tragedy that day, by either public or private acknowledgment, the Memorial Garden was dedicated in 2006, forty years after the event, at an unknown cost and for minimal materials.^[31] After years of planning and consulting, a bronze plaque, dedicated to all who were affected, was placed near the pond.^[32]

August 1, 2008 "Heroes Tower Building Dedication"

On the 42nd anniversary of the tragedy, the following names were added to a Precinct Building in Austin, Texas and dedicated to the principal heroes who helped stop Whitman on August 1, 1966. The names on the plaque represent the individuals who were within the tower and directly affected the outcome, although it was recognized that the list is incomplete.^[33]

• Officer Billy Paul Speed, the only peace officer slain Aug. 1, 1966.
• Officer Phillip Conner of Austin, ex-Army medic who administered first aid and covered the west window while officers went onto the observation deck.
• Officer Jerry Day of Universal City, who moved a wounded victim out of the line of fire and went to the top of the tower alone.
• Lt. Marion Lee, the gunner in the airplane piloted by Jim Boutwell.
• Officer Ramiro Martinez of New Braunfels, who made his way onto the tower deck and was the first to spot and shoot at Whitman.
• Officer Houston McCoy of Menard, who fired the fatal shots into Whitman.
• Officer Harold Moe of Marble Falls, who was instrumental in saving the lives of two gunshot victims and used the only portable two-way radio to notify police that the siege was over.
• Officer George Shepard, who was instrumental in saving the lives of two gunshot victims.
• Officer Milton Shoquist of Fair Oaks Ranch, who was instrumental in saving the lives of two gunshot victims.
• Department of Public Safety Agent W.A. "Dub" Cowan, who made his way to the top of the tower and was instrumental in setting up communications and removing people from harm's way on the 27th floor.
• Civilian Jim Boutwell, who volunteered his airplane and piloted it slowly above the tower to gather information and to help subdue the sniper.
• Civilian Allen Crum, first-floor supervisor of UT Co-op, who made his way atop the UT Tower and, with Agent Cowan’s weapon, assisted Officer Martinez and backed up Officer Day on the south side of the observation deck.
• Civilian Frank Holder, elevator mechanic for Otis Elevator Co., who led officers up the tower and assisted them in negotiating the stairs leading to the observation deck.
• Civilian William Wilcox, engineer for UT Physical Plant, who led officers through the underground tunnels to safely enter the tower building, assist the wounded and subdue the sniper.

Whitman in film, music and print

Whitman's tower spree has remained at the forefront of news and public consciousness, as evidenced by many references in popular music, literature, film, and TV.

• 1966 — A photograph of Whitman appears on the August 12 cover of Time, highlighting an article entitled "The Psychotic & Society."
• 1966 — Life posted a cover photograph of Whitman's damage to the windows of a store on Guadalupe for an article entitled: "The Texas Sniper."
• 1968 — The poem "Dream Song 135" in John Berryman's His Toy, His Dream, His Rest references Whitman, the murder of his wife and mother, and the clock tower shootings.
• 1968 — Peter Bogdanovich released the film Targets, largely inspired by the Whitman case; it features a man murdering his mother and wife, then embarking on a sniper spree.
• 1972 — Harry Chapin records an album entitled, Sniper and Other Love Songs. The album's second track "Sniper," also the album's title song, was recorded from both first and third-person points of view of Chapin's interpretation of Whitman's actions, referencing Whitman's issues with his mother and highlighting his isolation through allegory.
• 1973 — Texas singer Kinky Friedman records "The Ballad of Charles Whitman," a satirical tune, on the album Sold American. Friedman attended the University of Texas and graduated in 1966, a few months prior to the shooting.
• 1973 - The movie "The Laughing Policeman", has Walter Matthau and Bruce Dern discussing Whitman on the tower as they pursue a mass murderer.
• 1975 — The made-for-TV film The Deadly Tower written by William Douglas Lansford stars Kurt Russell as Whitman. Officer Ramiro Martinez later sued the producers for its portrayal of him and his wife; Officer Houston McCoy also sued. Martinez settled out of court, but McCoy received no settlement.
• 1987 — The movie Full Metal Jacket contains a scene in which a USMC drill instructor tells his recruits that Whitman's phenomenal accuracy was a result of his training as a rifleman in the Marines.
• 1989 - The movie Parenthood alludes to the incident when Steve Martin has a flash-forward, imagining his son as a college student shooting from the roof of a bell tower with a rifle.
• 1993 — Macabre includes a song about Whitman called "Sniper in the Sky" on the album Sinister Slaughter.
• 1996 — Whitman features prominently in an episode of American Justice entitled, "Mass Murderer: An American Tragedy."
• 2001 — Dateline NBC broadcasts a special on the tower shooting called "Catastrophe." The same year, Fox's World's Wildest Police Videos shows a brief clip of the shooting in a segment about the history of SWAT teams.
• 2007 - Insane Clown Posse song "The Tower" is about the Whitman on their album The Tempest
• 2008 - Whitman and his crimes were the focus of an episode of Deranged on the Investigation Discovery channel.

References

Further reading

• Douglas, John; Olshaker, Mark (1999). The Anatomy of Motive. Scribner. ISBN 0-7567-5292-2. 
• Lavergne, Gary M. (1997). A Sniper in the Tower. University of North Texas Press. ISBN 1-57441-029-6. 
• Levin, Jack; Fox, James Alan (1985). Mass Murder: America's Growing Menace. New York: Plenum Press. ISBN 0-306-41943-2. 
• Martinez, Ramiro (2005). They Call Me Ranger Ray: From the UT Tower Sniper to Corruption in South Texas. New Braunfels: Rio Bravo Publishing. ISBN 0976016206. 
• Tobias, Ronald (1981). They Shoot to Kill: A Psycho-History of Criminal Sniping. Boulder, Colorado: Paladin Press. ISBN 0-87364-207-4. 

External links

• Charles Whitman: The Texas Tower Sniper from the Court TV Crime Library. circa 2000
• Charles Whitman from the Handbook of Texas Online
• The Whitman Archives of the Austin Statesman
• Charles Whitman Research Guide from the Austin History Center