KTBC News UT Tower Shooting Special Report | Austin, TX 1966

The special report that aired live on KTBC on August 1, 1966 detailing the events of the University of Texas Tower shooting.
For local news, weather, sports and more visit FOX7Austin.com.

[@randybailin4902]

A lot of guts to go up to the top of the tower and engage the shooter. It was 100% certain that there'd be a shootout and someone was going to die. Big respect.

[@crow9553]

This was broadcast 55 years ago and the quality of reporting is so much better than today. Amazing.

[@Theaddora]

They actually did newscast back then. Today it's all propaganda.

[@stuartmiller7419]

@Aries GosserOW Now they parrott what they are told to say. They do not report.

[@Quaker-tc8ue]

@Aries GosserOW truths you don’t like isn’t “dirt,” it’s you being willfully ignorant.

[@Quaker-tc8ue]

@Aries GosserOW “i am one of the few truly bipartisan people in American.” You are also an incredibly arrogant person. My comment stands, truths you don’t like make you willfully ignorant. You don’t like it, leave. Cuz unless you are full-blooded First Nations, you are in the country known as the u.s. illegally.

[@Quaker-tc8ue]

@Aries GosserOW awww, temper tantrum over being called out. Ok, go be nasty to someone else who must might be sympathetic to your arrogance.

[@alvinoflys7504]

Apparently during the broadcast the reporter Paul Bolton was reading the victims list and read that his grandson Paul Bolton Sonntag had been among the killed. That would be haunting to watch.

[@TheNightWatcher1385]

He wasn't reading the list, but when he heard the name of his grandson he ran into the newsroom and demanded they read the list again because he couldn't believe it.

[@browk2512]

I only found this video in an attempt to find that footage. If anybody has it, I would be very appreciative if you could send it my way.

[@AlbeezKneez]

@@browk2512 any luck?

[@browk2512]

nope

[@AlbeezKneez]

@@browk2512 look up U.T tower 50 years later. It's in their

[@tsmithjohnson5337]

My Mother and I were on the way to "The Drag" to shop for school clothes that morning...fortunately, we had the TV on when this broadcast was presented...we lived about 10-15 driving distance...we would have ridden right into the "shooting field" unaware of the sniper.....one of the many miracles in my life...

[@tezzingtonsir28]

What are the other miracles?

[@stefansnellgrove]

Thankfully you and your mother were ok did you knew any of those that died or were injured from this attack.

[@angelitoincrisis]

that was like 1966 how are you still alive

[@bodbn]

@@angelitoincrisis people live longer than 30. You know 30 your IQ.

[@angelitoincrisis]

Ryan ok but realize this , most people die at 80.

[@mr.aerial1885]

Those that risked their lives to save those down are REAL DAMN HEROES!!!!!

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

Amen. Great thought.

[@TheHeavensFellen]

...and here i was thinking to nominate the uvalde police force

[@Gavy61]

@@TheHeavensFellenLol screw the Uvalde response

[@panam4974]

I was 12 years old when this occurred. My Dad and I drove to the intersection of Wooldridge Drive and Pemberton Place. Using binoculars, we watched the limestone dust rise from the gunfire aimed at Whitman. The dust would fly and a few seconds later we heard the sound. It was the craziest thing that we had ever seen. No and then I think about the battle and try to place it in context of today's mass shootings.

[@lukecrant4009]

brain damage, psychiatric issue, he clearly had some brain and psychological issue, a lot of kids and young men today have been fed terrible drugs since young and clearly have psychiatric issues, almost all the modern day shooters have all this in common

[@elmerjfapp5730]

Dangerous to watch it take place even at range considering the guy was a in a high up vantage point

[@davewanamaker3690]

My heart goes out to all the victims and witnesses. I remember seeing it on the CBS Evening News that night. It was horrible for you and your dad. Now it seems to happen more and more. What will stop this?

[@theresadyer9856]

I wasn’t born yet when this happened I’m 55 years old 😮

[@robcarpenter1225]

Four members of the same immediate family from my hometown of Texarkana were shot that day as they made their way up the stairs to the 28th floor. Two of them died. Their aunt (from Austin) was also killed and her husband was injured. I remember the surviving father, MJ Gabour (was not shot but witnessed his son killed and wife and oldest son shot), owned a full-service filling station in Texarkana for years afterwards.

[@JohnSmith-dh4gw]

My older brother was a classmate of Mark and we knew the Lamports. I went past Mr. Gabours station every day going to Texas High.

[@Theranchhouse1]

so very sorry...

[@sbaker4920]

So sorry.

[@stevendavis718]

@@JohnSmith-dh4gw What were the Gabours like?

[@JohnSmith-dh4gw]

@@stevendavis718

[@trippytrellis7033]

Back in the day, the news was presented in a minimalist setting unlike today's coverage in which several headlines are jammed on the screen making it difficult to digest what's being said by the reporters.😷

[@informationoverload2487]

It’s sad that this is no longer a staggering tragedy that people have to stop to comprehend. This stuff happens almost every month now. It’s so scary living in a place where you don’t know if someone horrible will do this. But the threat isn’t from just people here but terrorists too.

[@Shinuchiha_99]

Yep and 18 skinny Arab guys from Pakistan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia flew 3 planes into the United states most important structures.. killing 3000 with the matter of 3-4 hrs.. Tim mcveigh used gasoline, garden fertilizer, diesel fuel, and arsenic to napalm a 6 story high rise killing 160 including 6 children.. people act like this is just an American thing but messed up stuff like this happpens all over the world every day.. not just a USA thing.. that’s a load of horse shite

[@2loaves388]

Cry harder cry baby. The only place this happens in Chicago and gang infested areas

[@InHisService333]

Just take one day at a time and trust God. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oau8Ynekr9Z7m6c

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

There may have been instances before, but this seemed to kinda start it alk in terms of these psychotic spree killers.

[@informationoverload2487]

@@chocolatetownforever7537 this was the very first shooting of this kind.

[@harrylime8077]

There was a tv movie about this made in the 1970’s I believe. It had among other fine actors Kurt Russel as the shooter and Ned Beatty.

[@thomasharrison3126]

Oh yes, the 1975 movie was called " The Deadly Tower". I have it on DVD, bought it from Amazon, a good movie, pretty accurate for a TV movie.

[@acgillespie]

Yea.. we can always count on Hollywood to make the bucks out of tragedy..

[@kennethlatham3133]

@@acgillespie .......and certain politicians.

[@billstrauch1705]

It was called " The Deadly Tower " I think it came out in 1973 ?

[@thomasharrison3126]

@@billstrauch1705 1975, I remember very well, I was 15 at the time.

[@AlexO-sx6ff]

This guy was way ahead of his time. 55 years later and crazy people still have arsenals.

[@tincou7694]

@Josh Traffanstedt Americans love their guns so mass shootings are going to happen over and over indefinitely. Republicans and the NRA fear gun restrictions.

[@InHisService333]

Just take one day at a time and trust God. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oau8Ynekr9Z7m6c

[@memzehni]

@Josh Traffanstedt WTF 2nd amendment...

[@Quaker-tc8ue]

@Conway Twitter another one twisting the meaning of the 2nd amendment to suit themselves. If you want to keep your little six-shot pistol, fine. Do you need an automatic, semi-automatic, to “defend” yourself? No. Do you need to keep several of those weapons in your home to “defend” yourself? No.

[@Quaker-tc8ue]

@@memzehni the 2nd amendment of the u.s. constitution, which was written in 1791, allows for “a well-armed *militia*, being necessary for the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” It was written when the weapon of choice was a single-shot musket, with or without a bayonet affixed. Rabid NRA folks such as Conway have twisted the meaning to including automatic weapons, semi-automatic weapons, and several of each, none of which they NEED.

[@jasonlawrence6548]

Wow, journalist reporting without trying to simply push a political agenda.

[@hrebec97]

The journalist who interviewed the man that explained Whitman’s Boy Scout experience was Verne Lundquist, famous for his work on CBS Sports.

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

Thats crazy. One of the best sportscasters of all time. Glad he went national so all of us could listen to him.

[@austinstratman1809]

Wow! I just ask that question!

[@johnhardman825]

He worked for WFAA in Dallas for years covering the Cowboys before he went to CBS Sports.

[@gehlen52]

A wonderful time to be growing up but with very terrible moments, as opposed to today, a horrible time to be growing up with uncountable terrible moments.

[@johnd2058]

@For Truth ...um... Victory over the Cu Chi tunnel complex in Sai Gon was achieved by prolonged heavy carpet-bombing, like expelling an enemy from New York City by turning Staten Island into a moonscape. Also, are you counting Comie in those enemies? Or ISIS? Or Boko Haram?

[@lemonhead162]

Every time I drive into town (I live in the west side of Austin), I see the creepy tower looming in the background and I'm reminded of what happened up there. My dad was a UT student and was walking along the drag (Guadalupe) with his roommate when they heard what they thought was a motorcycle backfiring at first, but my dad realized it was gun fire after a while. They ducked & ran, ending up in some store watching.

[@tarnsand440]

Wow!! News sure gave a lot more details than now.

[@Hennessy_Bottle]

Crazy How Someone Recored This While He Was Shooting. BRAVE For Real

[@lifeisawesomeeveryday9734]

God bless the victims and their families

[@genataylor460]

I had been trying to transfer to UT at that time and had had an appt with admissions which was in that building at the noon hour. I was not able to keep that appt, thank God.

[@beckweth]

I remember that day. The most horrific event at the time. Now look at us.

[@Theranchhouse1]

my husbands 1st cousin was the police officer that shot Whitman ,assisted by 2 other men after entering the Tower...He later became a Texas Ranger and then a judge.....

[@altfactor]

Supposedly, KTBC (and a local educational TV station in Austin) both had studios within sight of the tower and broadcast live coverage, which in KTBC's case was also fed to the three commercial networks (since KTBC was affiliated with all three networks of the time). As a 10-1/2 year old boy in suburban Boston, I recall seeing NBC simulcasting KTBC's coverage, with some additional comments by Chet Huntley in New York.

[@jacefiore6203]

altfactor what local educational television station was it? NET? You KNOW! The pre-PBS?

[@altfactor]

Wasn't it KLRN?

[@jaredwhite8388]

YES, IT'S NOW KLRU IN AUSTIN

[@nickovw27]

Yeah, there's a media building on campus with a view of the tower.

[@janbeeson5083]

@@altfactor Yes. But KTBC was NOT within his gunshot of his position on the tower.

[@RavnerRavner]

Crumb a man's man. An ordinary guy turned into a hero and stepped up to do what had to be done when he had to do it.

[@TheHeavensFellen]

hear what happened to him? they ran him out of texas

[@vostock83]

Whitman never served in Vietnam, but he was in USMC

[@jeonginnielvr]

vostock83 he would have been a good asset in Vietnam shooting VC instead of American citizens. What a waste.

[@artfd]

The DI in "Full Metal Jacket" (movie) referred to Charles Whitman's marksmanship as something to emulate.

[@paynebobbees6027]

Fred Jaminson i certianly hope the marines would be taught to shoot.

[@CrossOfBayonne]

In the late 50s he enlisted

[@subversivelysurreal3645]

Joseph Martinez and Allen Crum, a shop owner, and another police officer, these men deserve the gratitude of our collective humanity. who may‘be been off duty at the time, did what became unthinkable to the police by the time of the ‘Columbine’ killings, during which not one ☝🏾 of these ‘officers’ entered the building. They made the conscious decision of taking it upon themselves, and climb UP that tower, and confront with the intent to capture/kill the source of the slaughter. These three men, and I’ll absolutely correct it should I have the names wrong, and the film, one word, ‘Tower’ should be a part of their training. it’s an excellent film, available now on your PBS stations. Note : it uses a particular type of animation known as ‘rotoscoping’…

[@kaykay8100]

The officer's name's were Ramiro "Ray" Martinez, Houston McCoy, and Jerry Day. Officer Martinez deputized Allen Crump before they went outside on the observation deck. Allen was paid for one day by the City of Austin for his role as civilian deputy. Allen refused the paycheck. People doing what they think is right 🤝✊

[@OfficialA.D.]

It’s Ramiro Martinez, my friend.

[@SKEPTZ_CODM]

Even the camera men helped out inbeetween filming!!!! That would never happen today as they say, they are there to record the news, not become it 😑 how times have changed

[@bodbn]

Not from the CNN school of journalism I see.

[@williamanthony9090]

People tend to rise to the occasion at the most incredible times. It's human nature, and human nature hasn't changed all that much since 1966.

[@SKEPTZ_CODM]

@@bodbn what do you mean ?

[@SKEPTZ_CODM]

@@williamanthony9090 depends where you live tbf

[@joshuatraffanstedt2695]

That's false. People help today same as they did then.

[@JohnSmith-dh4gw]

Nothing like this had ever happened before. And back then folks never looked for their 15 minutes of fame. That’s why you don’t hear about all the folks that showed up with their deer rifles and started putting incoming fire towards any movement on the tower. That severely limited the sniper’s access to targets. He was probably limited to shooting through the small rain gutter loopholes at the base of the deck. It was so effective that when McCoy and Martinez went to signal that the sniper was down they almost got shot themselves. The abundance of firearms and people that knew how to use them, which kinda sounds like a militia, undoubtedly saved a lot of lives that day. I don’t recall anybody jumping in front of a camera hootin’ “Yeah, we were shooting at him, …”. All those folks just packed up and went home. Nobody knows their names. Literally, Citizen Soldiers.

[@TheCrucialQ]

Unfortunately, that is not true. The first mass shooting happened in 1891. This is an U.S problem that has lo

[@2loaves388]

@@TheCrucialQ nice lies go back to mama poser

[@georgeanthony7282]

@@TheCrucialQ As I mentioned before, there may have been others... that's why I stated "so-called". But this much is correct... the incident in 1966 is the one that reached worldwide recognition because it was televised live!

[@gregb6469]

In a lot of Leftist-controlled cities now, with their strict gun control laws, there wouldn't be any armed civilians able to come to the aid of the police like the guys in Austin did that day.

[@davidadcock8717]

The "...folks that showed up with their deer rifles..." were almost all summer school students who retrieved their hunting rifles and ammo from their dorm rooms and started plunking at Whitman. If nothing else, they made Whitman resort to shooting through the Tower deck rain drains instead of being able to shoot over the wall...

[@peskyfly6087]

This happened in 1966, but one of the victims died in 2001.

[@kennethlatham3133]

They're all going to die sometime, you know.

[@peskyfly6087]

@@kennethlatham3133 You're right, but they usually die much sooner than 35 years after the event that led up to their death.

[@Quaker-tc8ue]

Luis Alvarez was an NYPD detective, who became sick from the toxic fumes on 9/11/01. When he died in 2019 from cancer, he was included as one of those who died that day.

[@michaelleroy9281]

So he lived for 35 years with whatever happened to him from the shooting?

[@carolharris1041]

Kurt Russell did indeed star in a movie about this tragic case. I believe it was made in 1975. From what I remember, it was a good movie, and the first time I saw Kurt Russell on screen.

[@extremedrivr]

You didn't see him in a couple Disney films??

[@TheHeavensFellen]

he did Disney stuff when he was a teenager

[@salvadorvela8146]

great post!!

[@tannuh]

Damn,The news reporters run into the gun fire? Amazing but sad.

[@acgillespie]

Because they knew it was all fake for a Hollywood Movie to be made

[@FUNZO1975]

@@acgillespie ?

[@tannuh]

@@acgillespie you mean the shooting is fake? dumbass

[@JohnDoe-zh4li]

@@acgillespie what is your iq my friend

[@acgillespie]

@@tannuh .About as fake as a peaceful protest where everything is on fire and being destroyed.

[@davewanamaker3690]

KTBC had the foresight to save tape. The madness has been going on for decades. People need to see this and take action against this evil.

[@JohnSmith-dh4gw]

And what is your solution?

[@jbmidnightson9294]

I was born at Brackenridge Oct 61 went to Walnut Creek Elementary later on but even at five I still remember that shooting

[@moaningpheromones]

you weren't five when it happened man. looks like you can't even get your own age right let alone the shooting.

[@jeonginnielvr]

Kinda off topic, but 1966 seemed like the last year in this decade where people dressed modestly(crew cuts and short sleeve shirts). I guess the assassination of JFK and this shooting in UT had really fueled the counterculture movement of the late 60s. No one was safe anymore and the war in Vietnam didn't help.

[@stephentoth6003]

almighty_luigi Ive thought about that so much watching history stuff. It fascinates me how JFK being killed was like the killing of American innocence. VERY soon after they would have Richard Speck, Whitman, Boston Strangler and Manson. Bringing mass murder, mass school shootings, serial killings and cult leaders to the forefront

[@jamiemartin274]

@@stephentoth6003 Do you know about Robert Benjamin or the beauty school massacre?

[@IanKirklandVlogs]

Swinging london which occured in 1966 is what rlly influenced 60s fashion. Thats why mostly when u look up 60s fashion you see minidresses and mini skirts

[@brianarbenz7206]

Are you saying that the one thing that comes to mind when you see films of JFK and UT students being murdered is, "My, those bystanders dressed so modestly!"

[@brianarbenz7206]

@@stephentoth6003 In the 1950s, a disgruntled school board member in rural Michigan blew up an elementary school, killing all the students. It was the worst school violence in U.S. history. We don't hear about it because it was the "age of American innocence." That's an example of how our pre-conceptions shape what we find to be true.

[@eddiebear60]

The story never ends.

[@froey198033]

They said he possibly went nuts because he had a brain tumor. I mean it's possible cause why else would he start going on a shooting spree. I can't even begin to imagine that you're out for a walk and next thing you're shot or dead.

[@2009hdj]

This is devastating - those poor people :(. The courage and bravery those kids demonstrated, running out to rescue victims, whilst putting themselves in peril... it's hard to put into words. Incredible. What's depressing is that this is possibly one of the few instances where the gunman truly didn't have control over his actions. He had a malignant mass in his brain called a Glioblastoma - an aggressive cancer. It was theorised that it was pressing against his amygdala, an area of the brain that regulates the fight or flight impulse and controls emotions. It's highly probable that he wasn't himself and didn't have the requisite capacity to modulate his thoughts. It also explains his headaches. This is one of the few cases where there might be an answer, but In my opinion, that makes it even worse.

[@gotch09]

The brain tumor theory I think is still controversial. I think there were other things that were far more telling and had more impact than the tumor theory.

[@stephentoth6003]

Jess Abbey half true. I thought that was the story too. Until i looked more into it and they really aren't sure if that was the cause. They do know he was taking HUGE amounts of dexedrine for months. Uppers. Thatd def do it

[@backstan5241]

Jess Abbey my bad I'm just going to keep it real bullshit he know what he was doing y you think he got up there with all them guns not to look at people just kill them whoever he saw

[@sbaker4920]

In my research I found that he, prior to this, knew something was wrong with him. One of his symptoms was that of excessive writing in which he expressed some of this internal struggle, requesting help. His father was physically abusive to his mother which was why she had left him and moved to TX. He never had a good relationship with his father. Tragedy all around.

[@richardwhitfill5253]

I remember this sad day very well. Richard in Dallas

[@TheDragonflyDoji]

strange news report. where are all the politicians?

[@johnd2058]

That's daytime news for you: actual real events live, sometimes. By the night of Charlottesville, however, all the prime-time pundits on every channel were watching Twitter, not what actually went down.

[@joshuatraffanstedt2695]

the world was a much different place in 1966. I wish I could go back. The 60s were one of the best, most historic decades in all of history. I wish I could have witnessed it firsthand.

[@johnd2058]

@@joshuatraffanstedt2695 www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/my-lai-massacre-1#:~:text=The%20My%20Lai%20massacre%20was,Lai%20on%20March%2016%2C%201968 www.theguardian.com/world/2018/aug/19/prague-1968-snapshots-day-freedom-died

[@IanKirklandVlogs]

@@joshuatraffanstedt2695 i mean im most likely younger than you.. But you rlly dont. Thw 60s was cool. Yeah there was swinging london in 66 but the decade was also full of racsim. Kkk attacks. Riots. Millions of things. Especially serial killers in the late 60s

[@brianarbenz7206]

@@joshuatraffanstedt2695 I did witness it firsthand and it, like any decade, had good and bad things. It was not so different from any decade... I'm not sure why this shooting would be something to make you key in on the good things.

[@carlam7807]

It was said that Paul was walking with his gf and her friend Carla. Paul stood up exclaiming "Carla! Come look, I can see him. This is for real!" and was shot in the mouth.

[@vivalajuicey]

💔 2022 still happening smh sad

[@ToyotaGuy1971]

6:44 this guy has trouble with big words like "it".

[@aldourrutia239]

These USA guys with their passion for guns is incredible, and yhis is an old report, 1966, how many more have happened since then?

[@johnhardman825]

That Sunday my sisters went to Austin to see my 2 cousins that live a few blocks from the campus. Monday morning they were walking to the campus when my cousin's grandmother came running out of their apartment telling them a nut was shooting people from the tower. My cousin got on the roof of the apartment building with his telescope and watched the puffs of smoke coming from the tower. They could had been shot from there, but Whitman didn't fire that way. It took my mother 2 to 3 hours to get though to Austin because the phone lines were tied up.

[@BillyBob-jb3yy]

And we’re did he learn to shoot In the Marines out standing

[@danielbell9779]

Was the damage to the tower ever repaired, or left as a reminder?

[@trippytrellis7033]

It's been reported that the bullet holes are still present on the tower.😷

[@danielshannon6027]

They are still there.

[@davidadcock8717]

The bullet marks were filled not long after the Whitman Shooting. Initially, the filler was a slightly different color than the building stone, so they were noticeable. But over time they have all bleached to the same color as the stone. Also, I seem to recall that a glass panel in one of the Tower clock faces was broken, but it has long since been replaced.

[@lemonhead162]

You can still see bullet holes.

[@geoffreydevore9503]

A terrible thing to happen. Charles whitman was not in his right mind. Before this happen by all accounts he was a good person. Something caused him to snap!! This does not excuse what he done on that August day back in 1966.

[@paulcarpenter999]

Read the book Sniper in the Tower, the definitive story of the crime. Whitman was deeply troubled from his abusive upbringing, and was a chronic prescription drug abuser (mostly Dexedrine). He had talked about shooting people from the tower for years, and was clearly suicidal during the 24 hours before the crime. A chronic failure, he wanted to show the world what he could do.

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

@@paulcarpenter999 Well they also found a tumor in his brain after the autopsy I thought. May have had a lot to do with it, as Whitman wrote in a final statement, that he hadnt been feeling right and wanted coroners to check him out as he planned to die after this event.

[@johnlittle234]

No comment

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

Its just so crazy how well that building was built for a crime like that. The height and placement allowed this guy to hit people blocks away, but what really strikes me, is those lil alcoves built into the walls of it. Dude could just shoot at will while being safe from being hit. Especially considering limited technology at the time, Whitman was pretty much impossible to stop without a few brave studs breaking through that door and killing him. Had Whitman just watched that door, how would they have ended this? Youd need a plane to get super close to even have a shot at him. Im not sure it could even have been done without blowing the top part up with some serious cannons or something.

[@onegirlrev]

A plane tried and failed

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

@@onegirlrev Yep.

[@davidadcock8717]

The "alcoves" that you mention were rain drains to keep the Tower deck from flooding.

[@Rest65432]

That tower is cursed. Suicides have occured from there. I visited the UT Tower in 2007 but did not go up to the top. I could feel lots of negative energies everywhere in the building.

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

@@davidadcock8717 Great info. I never knew what they were for. Thank you.

[@rufuspipemos]

It's amazing how much detail they have for the evening news just a few hours after the events.... a schematic of how they killed Whitman, which guns he had, how many were shot, how many killed, the names of the dead, interviews with witnesses, his former teachers and heroes of the day plus the contents of Whitman's letter. And all this received without cell phones or satellite transmissions or computers or Twitter.

[@TheHeavensFellen]

two letters also, but coroner and police chief differed on how mom was killed, and the news guy goes, effects of the "simple, and complex, confused nature", sort of like when years later David Hogg would describe being in the MSD shooting (albeit at a considerable distance away) as sort of being "frozen in a lukewarm" state. Huh? Like Tucker Carlson would say, "How does that work?"

[@TheHeavensFellen]

Also the police chief drawing chalkboard diagram has a different story how the lone gunman was felled, than that of Alan Crum, who was actually said to have been up there helping to end it. They ran ole Alan Crum right out of Texas as i hear it, and good ole boy LBJ owned KTBC TV in Austin, who had the exclusive feed to national three networks, and after UT 1966 SWAT was designed and the national anti gun movement began. LBJ would put his good pal Connally, shot in JFK's limo in '63, in charge of the official investigation.

[@philipthomas6808]

I've always been fascinated by this tragic event, remembering watching a made for TV movie in the early 70's, I believe on ABC, called The Deadly Towers with Kurt Russell, and at the time, I didn't realize that it was based on true events there in Austin, TX. Was there any footage or news coverage of any WH response from the LBJ administration about the incident?

[@stevendavis4189]

Look on the LBJ Tapes from August 2, 1966. President & Mrs. Johnson were personally acquainted with Paul Bolton and his family, as Lady Bird hired him at KTBC in 1943. Because of this tragedy, LBJ, who owned several guns, was the first Us president to propose gun control policies.

[@elroddin76]

This particular case has a probable explanation: Charles Whitman lived a fairly unremarkable life until August 1, 1966, when he murdered 16 people including his wife and mother. What transformed this 25-year-old Eagle Scout and Marine into one of modern America’s first and deadliest school shooters? His autopsy suggests one troubling explanation: Charles Whitman had a brain tumor pressing on his amygdala, a region of the brain crucial for emotion and behavioral control.

[@Jambisket]

I was only 4 when this happened and I can’t imagine what my mother and grandmother thought as they watched this on the news on our old 19in black & white television. It must have been a very frightening experience for all those people he was raining down bullets on. That 18yr old girl that was 8 months pregnant had to have been so terrified after getting shot in the stomach and then having to watch her fiancé get shot and fall right beside her. She survived, but I know this changed her forever. So horrific! I wonder if the shooter was trying to hit her in the stomach? If so, that’s just pure evil. Whitman’s father was evil to. I grew up with domestic violence and abuse in my family. His father beating him and throwing him in the pool? That’s another level of evil I don’t know. He was even abusive to their pets! I never experienced any thing like that either. I know that he must have been truly traumatized and he knew himself that something was wrong. So sad he couldn’t be stopped from making this horrible day in 1966 a reality.

[@cherylbean5881]

A surreal experience. Listened to radio during lunch. Could hear shots fired. America had turned a page.

[@jonkillings2747]

How did they organize all those people who supposedly knew to him to give interviews so quickly? Shit it only happened hours before.

[@RC-fw6ws]

Jon Killings I suppose they just went out and interviewed them, doesn't seem like rocket science.

[@jonathanbarnes3061]

Before the internet folks talked to each other, now post covid people won't even show their face or shake hands.

[@georgeanthony7282]

I was just 8 yrs old in 1966 when this travesty occurred. It was around lunchtime (home from school) when the program I was watching was interrupted to bring a special news bulletin. I forgot what channel it was, but the news was actually showing the events live! Of course, I was too young to really comprehend it all. This was the first true mass massacre (at the time) in the U.S. As a result, the resurgence of an immediate response unit was formed aka a swat team. Sadly, this would be just the beginning of a long list of domestic mass killings!

[@jamesb.9155]

Special Weapons & Tactics ~ S.W.A.T. They kick a lot of butt.

[@stefansnellgrove]

And people want to think it only started in the 90’s when this mess has been going on since the 60’s even if gun heavy states like Texas. Even with “good guys with guns” it took 90 minutes and the two cops had to dodge bullets from the civilians and the gunman. Were you in the area when it happened. Did this make national news because I haven’t heard of it till like 8 months ago and surprised giving how big it was. It was basically the university version of Columbine. Even many Texas students there don’t know about their own school’s dark history. Same way many Ole Miss students don’t know about Chucky Mullins who got injured on the field and died a year later from his injuries in 1989 or in 1962 when a bunch of southern schools went to Oxford and basically bombed the school to the point it look like a war zone because the first black man was admitted (sadly even many Ole Miss students were against him being their at the time and his few white friends were called N with the yard er lovers and other racial things)

[@williamanthony9090]

@@stefansnellgrove - Oh my goodness. Did it make the national news?!? Yeah, like... BIG TIME!! As for your comments regarding gun heavy Texas... Many civilians were returning fire on the tower that day. Surely not the most ideal situation, and quite unthinkable today, but those civilians helped keep the sniper pinned down, and probably account for a lower death toll than would have occurred otherwise. Also, the time frame of the incident, about ninety minutes, reflects directly on the unorganized response by the local authorities. There were no SWAT teams at the time. The local police responded as best the could under the chaotic circumstances. Two officers and a civilian climbed the tower with no real idea of what awaited them at the top, be it one sniper or several, and quickly put an end to the shooting spree once they were able to engage Whitman at close range.

[@stefansnellgrove]

@@williamanthony9090 the 3 had to doge his bullets and the civilians bullets taking them longer to get in their. I knew all that I just didn’t know if it made national news bee cause it was much harder to relay information than it is today.

[@williamanthony9090]

@@stefansnellgrove- It wasn't that hard. Vietnam was known as the first television war because a firefight filmed at three in the afternoon on a Monday, was being played on Tuesday night's national news broadcasts. (By Tuesday morning's Today Show's broadcast if it was deemed newsworthy enough.) In addition to the three major television networks, you had the morning and evening editions of thousands of newspapers around the world, plus the weekly editions of Life and Look magazines, plus dozens of other magazines. Plus there was radio, which was being broadcast 24/7 all around the world. So, despite what millennials might imagine, it wasn't exactly the stone age! I remember when this incident took place. It made the noon broadcast of our local television news while Whitman was still firing from that tower, though actual filmed footage wasn't shown until later that night. I guess having to wait six more hours to see the film footage would seem like the stone age to someone born into today's world, though.

[@DenitaArnold]

So sad

[@LeukaRust]

So much information on the victims o_0

[@jaworskij]

I was 5 weeks old around this time.

[@stefansnellgrove]

LilZebra I was 3 almost 4 years when Columbine happened in 1999 and was 2 months from being born when Oklahoma City Bombing happened

[@user-xi8yh8qi9j]

@@stefansnellgrove I was 1 when Columbine happened

[@stefansnellgrove]

Hong Kong From Head Soccer when I was turning 1 to just turned 1 the 1996 Summer Olympics was happening

[@user-xi8yh8qi9j]

@@stefansnellgrove damn

[@marshalldevinejr.8078]

I was a month and six days short of my fifth birthday when this was going on. My folks were also taking me to the UT campus for speech therapy. At that time the speech clinic was on the ground floor of the UT Tower. My session ended at 11:00. Three quarters of an hour later Whitman carved his niche in Texas history.

[@michaelbarnhart2593]

You see... this is nothing new (or recent.)

[@jamiemartin274]

You are absolutely right.

[@rah62]

Back then it was a big deal. Now it happens nearly every day.

[@rebeccahernandez3460]

Isn't it interesting how these reporters speak of what is really happening, no fancy sets, just good solid reporting of all the facts. Not like today when they snip and paste clips together and present that as truth. This was back when news was actually NEWS!!! They didn't try an embellish anything or leave half the story out. I wish all news stations were like that today. All those who tried to go and help the wounded and those who were lying dead and getting them off that hot pavement, should have all gotten Good Citizenship Awards. They were very brave and so were the Officers who went into the tower to get Wittman. May all the souls he killed rest in peace.

[@BrinyGale]

Is this where it all started?

[@DNchap1417]

First school shooting by FBI definition? Yes (4+ dead, not gang-related nor is it an act of war). First mass shooting? No, that happened in Camden, NJ 1949: www.smithsonianmag.com/history/story-first-mass-murder-us-history-180956927/

[@BrinyGale]

DNchap1417 I didn’t expect an actual educational response, or one at all, so thank you..! I hope you and your loved ones are all safe and well!

[@BrinyGale]

B T It happened on a university campus.. I think I get you though.

[@davidhudson5452]

I Remember Was A Few Blocks Away Was Safe With Trees Changed Austin

[@aquillafleetwood4209]

I remember this.....bad times!

[@FrankHeuvelman]

I am glad to notice that America took this shooting serious and made sure this was just a one time event, never to be repeated again. You Americans are so smart.

[@annabellelee4535]

Wow, you're not the brightest crayon in the box.

[@FrankHeuvelman]

@@annabellelee4535 Apparently, but I am in good company.

[@annabellelee4535]

@@FrankHeuvelman Well, I guess that's thinking positively! 🤣🤣🤣

[@FrankHeuvelman]

@@annabellelee4535 Thinking Positively is my middle name so I guess you're right.

[@annabellelee4535]

@@FrankHeuvelman 🙂

[@rosannereyes1492]

R. I. P cousin Charles Whitman😢😢

[@jackienosbisch3351]

There would have been a lot more victims of the sniper if the nearby neighbors had not intervened with there deer rifles And helped to keep Whitman pinned down until police arrived.

[@Jman417]

Charles Whitman was the inspiration for. a character in the john singleton movie"Higher Learning".

[@user-mv3ki4ii5l]

So sad. I read his bio sounds like he really tried to get some help. Even went as far as saying to a therapist “I feel like going in a tower and shooting random people with a hunting rifle” he never went back to that therapist. So I read true or not. Still such a tragic story on both sides.

[@jorsmith1169]

Thats what a Marine can do

[@nileswillis7992]

A motivated marine.

[@peterbradshaw8018]

Reading a book on the incident. Dude went berserk.

[@fine93]

25 year old and already world famous and a legend, and im her 30 and playing minecraft...

[@derrmann1800]

Full metal jacket brought me here

[@James_BAlert]

Pops into my head every now and then from when l first saw that film, really framed a darkness within the Marines culture within the film!!🤔

[@SteveBerryhill]

I find it very interesting the difference of this 1966 report , the first of it's kind, and those of today. It's THE SAME DAY and they very thoroughly report names, addresses, first hand witness accounts, weapons and history of the shooter just hours after it happened. We don't see that level of reporting so quickly today. Details of such crimes are closely guarded to protect investigations and to not sensationalize the crime or the killer. Then slowly leaked by law enforcement days, or longer, later. Very interesting how things have changed due to the frequency of these terrible events today and how earnest, almost naive, reporting the news was then.

[@Scroticus_Maximus]

Back then news was not geared towards profit or political advice. Just news.

[@marvinhagler4721]

Actually we do have it now but it's from regular people and it's on KZbin

[@Michael1966W]

His wife wanted to move to Mississippi and he didn’t want to go.

[@travisdavis3974]

Bitch. LOL

[@James_BAlert]

He apocryphally supposed to of asked her 'ls there a high tower in the local University? If not, no l ain't going!'.😶

[@michelangelobarques9589]

This violence has to stop, life is too short for such nonsense😭😡😱

[@glenbonura6149]

theres satanic influence on this earth. only God can stop the killing. and he will at the battle of armageddon. a righteous war. God against wicked mankind.

[@castlebravo1467]

Thats' right. When the shootings are done, then peace will reign

[@nickovw27]

This was in the 60's

[@ourlayla1547]

@@nickovw27 so? What your point😑 you so stuped

[@FukubeHattori]

ikr

[@jameswhite1319]

cops didnot have enough guns, my how times have changed

[@seekdestroyevil8636]

Cops had guns.. they just didn't have swat teams, which could deal with these types of assaults. But it was after this incident that swat teams were created and implemented for these types of situations in the United States.

[@jakemccain9825]

I’m sorry what?

[@TheHeavensFellen]

That's why they ran this Op, it was to fool you into thinking we need less citizens with guns and more law enforcement, there were more than one shooter. just look at the footage, the shots are too rapid.

[@TheHeavensFellen]

Then, in this video there is the part where the officer Martinez was said to be home coking a steak, and shows up and ends up taking him down, where are the rest of Austin PD employees? Lol The message is we need more armed police, we got a shortage, they had to deputize this Krum, then listen how his tory differs from the police chief he drew it out in chalk, Whitman is aimed at Krum yet does not fire only to get shot from behind, then Krum says Whitman and Martinez shot it out, so show version is right?? So Whitman with accuracy shoots all those below him, but cannot hit Krum right in front of him absolute BS. BTW that KTBC TV station in Austin was LBJ owned lololol I am not trying to attack your view, but IU don't believe any of this crap.

[@kjlandon9140]

ReturnoftheBrotha lmao you’re an idiot

[@kifacorea]

Tower is a great 2015 film.

[@lemonhead162]

Except the voices of the characters. Every single one had the California uptalk down to a T. Very unrealistic!

[@jerrysteinecke3850]

Just one shooter?! Please gimme my Army check back.... L.H.O./LOH/P.H.? (1966) All things considering..... Martinez/Saco Dino/Rudolf Hess/Juan Ramirez

[@johnharrison9685]

“Hauling a dead man to safety” (?)

[@jonathanbarnes3061]

Never met a gal named John.

[@brianarbenz7206]

Like Saving Private Ryan.

[@lazer1005]

That reporter looks like he's 15 and sounds like he's 60

[@jessicawilliams5190]

Whom ever decided to edit this history really BETTER research it and RESPECT The Real USMC who seriously SAVED MANY people's Lives. Lord, know's the Truth

[@jcalli66]

It's amazing how shocking something like this was back then. The news report is in so much detail, but nowadays on the news it's no surprise a mass shooting happend.

[@peterbradshaw8018]

Never knew an aircraft was involved poor pilot and sniper had to retreat as Whitman hit the plane repeatedly.

[@Asiablue]

The news announcer looks and sounds like Johnny Carson from the Tonight Show!

[@chocolatetownforever7537]

I did not know that....

[@mikeodonnell6799]

you can't blame weed for this. did Charles have a favorite Beatle?

[@annabellelee4535]

Triggered by Albert Hall?

[@mikeodonnell6799]

@@annabellelee4535 did he put the holes in it?

[@annabellelee4535]

@@mikeodonnell6799 Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.

[@gaylebaker8419]

Victims who fell on the sidewalks were burned where they contacted the paving.

[@bruhmoment2306]

Wow, people get burned a bit when they touch something hot, I didn’t know. I live in Texas, that would literally be a second degree burn if not first degree. Which isn’t bad AT ALL, you’re acting like a little burn is important 🤣

[@splatfestkid2022]

Wait a minute who took this if that was is 1966

[@IanKirklandVlogs]

Uhh news reporters? People with home video csmeras? Super 8? 16mm? Its not like video cameras didnt exist back then. It was only 55 years ago.

[@jerrywoods4066]

@@IanKirklandVlogs good answer

[@dappylu]

You never saw the Zapruder film footage of President Kennedy's assassination in 1963?

[@verasmith4767]

Jesus Christ. How did WW 1 or WW 2 get recorded.

[@JacobOreilly-vk6bn]

Why did ofc martinez get all the praise when it was actually the other officer that killed the evil man. Martinez took the other officers shotgun and shot the dead corpse

[@splatfestkid2022]

This was the first ever school shooting ever omg 😱

[@lewisfindley6912]

The first school shooting was July 26, 1764 in Greencastle, Pennsylvania en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States_(before_2000)

[@splatfestkid2022]

Lewis Findley omg

[@bBbstrdcyhhPA]

NO! There were tons before ‘66.

[@bBbstrdcyhhPA]

It was one of the first school shootings with 30+ dead, tho.

[@splatfestkid2022]

@@bBbstrdcyhhPA school shootings are the worst experience of your life

[@gterrymed]

Witman was suffering from a Brain tumor :(😢. Brain tumors can make people act really crazy

[@bethrogers5553]

Bull! Houston McCoy ended the incident. He fired the shots that killed the shooter. Martinez fired but missed six times. After McCoy fatally shot Whitman, Martinez shot the dying/dead man in the left side. He has taken credit over the years. But, he did not fire the fatal shots. Officer Houston McCoy deserves most of the credit.

[@splatfestkid2022]

Is it true that when are grandparents was young the worlds was black and white

[@IanKirklandVlogs]

No. Oh god no. There was obviously color. You can look at any old film but they had color film back then. The hell.

[@splatfestkid2022]

@@IanKirklandVlogs ok

[@kennethlatham3133]

Well, OUR grandparents had better grammar, certainly. That's right, I said it.

[@IanKirklandVlogs]

@@kennethlatham3133 period.

[@James_BAlert]

It was if you were colour blind!!😏

[@trock6921]

No reason?Whitman left letters.

[@huckstirred7112]

citizens with long range hunting rifles saved many, long live the civilian militia

[@bridgetleblanc7313]

Long live the police, too. Let us not forget

[@gaylebaker8419]

No, two police officers did it.

[@TheNightWatcher1385]

@@gaylebaker8419 with help from a civilian.

[@huckstirred7112]

@For Truth they got those from home . they were not issued

[@huckstirred7112]

@For Truth think about this . The Vegas shooter was a untrained civilian that didn't even hunt . This guy was a military trained shooter . But Vegas shooter was suppose to have done more than this guy with an inaccurate novelty gun . hmm I don't think so

[@frankstine1012]

I was born in 91 and learned about this from the Insane Clown Posse

[@martinavaslovik3433]

As I recall Whitman had a serious brain tumor that set him off. No one could have seen that coming.

[@TheHeavensFellen]

no, it was actually very small. and he told the UT school psych that he planned to do the exact same thing months before it occurred

[@nahkohese555]

I hope you all notice, they report the news and blame the shooter, not the guns.

[@brianarbenz7206]

No, in fact, they blamed it on his headaches and frustrations. They said he was a model boy scout leader. That's the news media pattern when a killer is a white middle-class person.

[@nahkohese555]

@@brianarbenz7206 sorry, this was back in the day when the news reported facts, not opinions.

[@brianmeen2158]

Yeah this wss as a back when the mainstream media wasn’t so broken and warped. Todays MSM is a lost cause

[@annabellelee4535]

@@brianarbenz7206 Are you saying that truth only belongs to the white middle class? This was when the USA had a free press instead of propaganda generating stations.

[@degsbabe]

The bravery of those guys going out to pick up those dead or injured people can't be lauded enough.Yet the question remains -they were easy targets for Whitman. Was there some residue of sanity in whitmans brain?Some embedded military code that allowed the 'enemy' to carry away its casualties?

[@keepsake327]

He might not have been looking at them that particular moment. It was luck.

[@theonlyantony]

He shot and critically injured some of them

[@davidadcock8717]

Whitman frequently moved around the Tower deck. All the rescuers had to do was wait until he was shooting from a different side and could not target them.

[@jeffworcester2287]

MK/ULTRA.

[@TheHeavensFellen]

This guy gets it And an accomplice, 2 shots from 2 openings atop tower, in half a second

[@dappylu]

3:03 "Hauling a dead man to safety".

[@kennethlatham3133]

He didn't stop to give the injured man a physical.....if that's okay with you.

[@dappylu]

He was DEAD already... if that's ok with you.

[@kennethlatham3133]

@@dappylu How did he KNOW that? With bullets whizzing around him, a sniper at large, he's going to give the guy zero chances? People come back from death, you know. Whether or NOT that's alright with you.

[@kennethlatham3133]

@Quaker 2019 "Dead weight" means deceased? News to me. Have you ever heard of people reviving long after being declared dead? What's the fkn rush to get 'em into the grave?

[@kennethlatham3133]

@Quaker 2019 Everybody but you has heard of people seeming dead, even actually BEING dead, yet coming back to life later, eh? Well, fine, we'll leave your bullet-riddled *ss out there. More time to help others.