Charles Whitman

This article is about the tower sniper. For other people with similar names, see Charles Whitman (disambiguation).

Charles Whitman
Whitman in 1963
Born
Charles Joseph Whitman

(1941-06-24)June 24, 1941
Lake Worth, Florida, U.S.
DiedAugust 1, 1966(1966-08-01) (aged 25)
Austin, Texas, U.S.
Cause of deathGunshot wounds
Resting placeHillcrest Memorial Park,
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Other namesThe Texas Tower Sniper
Known forPerpetrator of the University of Texas tower shooting
Spouse
Kathy Leissner
​
​
(m. 1962; died 1966)​
MotiveHomicidal ideation, mental illness possibly caused by brain tumor
Details
DateAugust 1, 1966
  • Mother and wife: c. 12:15–3:00 a.m.
  • Random: 11:48 a.m. – 1:24 p.m.
Location(s)University of Texas at Austin
Target(s)Mother, wife, random strangers
Killed17 (including an unborn child and a victim who died from complications in 2001)[1]
Injured31
Weapons

Charles Joseph Whitman (June 24, 1941 – August 1, 1966) was an American mass murderer and Marine veteran who became known as the "Texas Tower Sniper". On August 1, 1966, Whitman used knives to kill his mother and his wife in their respective homes, then went to the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) with multiple firearms and began indiscriminately shooting at people. He fatally shot three people inside UT Austin's Main Building, then accessed the 28th-floor observation deck on the building's clock tower. There, he fired at random people for 96 minutes, killing an additional eleven people and wounding 31 others before he was shot dead by Austin Texas law enforcement. Whitman killed a total of seventeen people; the 17th victim died 35 years later from injuries sustained in the attack.[2][3][4][5]

  1. ^ "David H. Gunby, 58; Hurt in '66 Texas Shooting Rampage". Los Angeles Times. November 16, 2001. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  2. ^ Flippin, Perry (August 6, 2007). "UT tower shooting heroes to be honored". gosanangelo.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2007.
  3. ^ "Sixty Years of Serving Those Who Answer the Call" (PDF). The Police Line. 1. Austin Police Association: 5. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 12, 2011.
  4. ^ "Camp Sol Mayer-Houston McCoy". westtexasscoutinghistory.net. August 1, 2010. Archived from the original on April 24, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2010.
  5. ^ (Time-Life Books 1993, pp. 40, 94)