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University of Texas tower shooting

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University of Texas Tower shooting
Main building of the University of Texas
LocationUniversity of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, U.S.
DateAugust 1, 1966 (1966-08-01)
Stabbing: c. 12:15 a.m. – 3:00 a.m.
Shooting: 11:48 a.m. – 1:24 p.m. (UTC-06:00)
Attack type
School shooting, mass shooting, familicide, matricide, uxoricide, mass murder, stabbing
Weapons
Deaths18 (including Whitman and an unborn child)
Injured
31
PerpetratorCharles Whitman

The University of Texas tower shooting was a school shooting in the United States. It happened on August 1, 1966.[1] It took place in Austin, Texas at University of Texas at Austin.

Sixteen people were killed in the incident. A 17th victim succumbed to his injuries in 2001.

Charles Whitman was the mass murderer. It has been suggested that Whitman's violent impulses, with which he struggled for years, were caused by a tumor on his brain.[2] Whitman had killed his wife and his mother hours earlier.

After the shootings, the observation deck was closed. The many bullet holes were repaired. The tower was closed again in 1975 after four suicides. It reopened in 1999 after security features were put up.

References

[change | change source]
  1. "Students Recall Horror". NPR.org. Retrieved Oct 1, 2017.
  2. "Brain on Trial". Atlantic Monthly. Retrieved Oct 1, 2017.