Charles Whitman

COMING SOON!

Although happily married, 25-year-old Charles Whitman was a worried man. He knew that he was in the grip of a terrible compulsion and on the verge of doing something appalling. Finally, on 31st July 1966 his self-control snapped and after killing his wife and mother so that they would be spared the shame he climbed the white granite tower of the University of Texas administration building, and started shooting at anyone who moved below. Fifteen people died and thirty were injured before police assault teams got close enough to gun him down.

Biography

<< BACK

1 2 3 4 5

NEXT >>

Charles Whitman
born: 23-06-1941
birth place: Florida, USA
died: 01-08-1966

Whitman calmly unpacked his firearms and supplies from the locker, wedged the observation deck door closed with the upended dolly, and took aim at the pedestrians moving along the South Mall far below. His Marine training stood him in good stead, and his first victim there was pregnant student Claire Wilson, whose child was killed instantly by a bullet that pierced her abdomen. Her acquaintance, Thomas Eckman, was also hit in the chest, falling across the injured girl as he went down. A visiting professor was the next fatality, taking a bullet to the lower back

Whitman then shifted his focus to the East of the Tower where Thomas Ashton, a Peace Corps trainee, was shot in the chest. Whitman was still moving around the observation deck unchecked, and turned his attention westward, toward Guadalupe Street, a busy street lined with businesses, where three more victims were despatched in quick succession, followed by another three, as the inhabitants unsuccessfully sought cover from the crack marksman.

Austin Police had, by this time, arrived on the scene, and Officer Billy Speed was their first casualty, shot through a six-inch gap between two stone supports of a statue; Whitman’s sharp-shooting skills were easily equal to the police forces now amassed around the tower, who had begun to return fire towards the tower parapet. Private citizens joined in with their own weapons as well, and yet Whitman still managed to kill one more victim, electrician Roy Schmidt, who was more than 500 yards from the Tower at the time.

Through sheer force of numbers, police moved towards the tower, assisting the wounded, making progress upwards towards the observation deck, where they found the door was still wedged shut. Officers Ramirez and McCoy finally breached the door, crawling in the direction of Whitman’s gunfire, despite the return fire that was coming from down below, and McCoy managed to shoot Whitman, after which Ramirez ran over and also shot Whitman at point blank range. The siege was at an end.

Whitman’s death toll was sixteen; fourteen of whom were shot from the tower, and dozens more were injured during the ninety-minute drama. Investigations soon revealed the bodies of his mother and his wife, as well as the notes that he had left.

<< BACK

1 2 3 4 5

NEXT >>

Links relating to this biography:
Crime & Investigation Network