Remembering The Texas Tower Shooting: University of Texas, Austin, Texas 1966

LIFE Magazine August, 12 1966
Remembering the victims

Date: August 1
Year: 1966
(Date format only allows pre-dating to 1970)
School: University of Texas
Location: Austin
State: Texas
Wounded: 31
Fatalities: 17
Including 1 unborn child, and 1 victim who died 35 years later from injuries sustained that day.

With about 1.2 million total deaths in all wars, and approximately 1.4 million firearm deaths
since 1966 more Americans have died by guns than in every single American war combined. (source)

 Time lapsed: 96 Minutes
Police response time: Approx 20 Minutes, 76 minutes to neutralize shooter.
How ended: Law enforcement and a deputized civilian were able to ambush the shooter and kill him.

Location of victims of Texas Tower shooting
Source: Encyclopedia Britannica

Civilians involved: Yes. Most of the casualties were in the 20 minutes before armed civilians and police arrived to hold the shooter off. A deputized civilian distracted the shooter while police closed in to deliver the kill shot.

Perpetrator: Charles Whitman
Age: 25
Family history: Abusive father, joined military to escape. Mother had recently left father and moved to be closer to him. He killed his mother and his wife the night before the shooting, saying he wished to spare them the shame of his actions and didn't want them to suffer.
Red flags: Once mentioned to a friend that someone could hold off a whole army from atop the clock tower. Complained of headaches and violent urges.
Mental illness history: History of violence and anger issues. Had seen a psychiatrist, did not return. Autopsy revealed a brain tumor that may have contributed to violent urges.
Drug or medication use: Known to use Dexedrine excessively. Multiple prescriptions found in his possession and in his home.

Long-term Dexedrine abuse is associated with a wide range of ill effects to one’s physical and mental health. As use continues for longer periods or the substance is abused at higher levels, the risks increase.

The drug can give rise to several psychological issues, including 1:

Manic symptoms like an inability to sleep, very high energy, and difficulty making good choices. These symptoms are related to bipolar disorder.

Psychotic symptoms like hallucinations, delusional thinking, paranoia, and a disconnection from reality.

Aggression in the form of physical violence or verbal outbursts against self or others. https://drugabuse.com/library/effects-of-dexedrine/

Inspiration: None known. Often considered the first modern mass shooting, this perhaps set the blueprint. Though not strictly a school shooting in the way we have come to understand them, he was a student, he did target random individuals at his school, and it very much set a blueprint for later shootings.
Possible motive: Journals left behind indicate that suicide by cop was highly the ultimate goal. See Menninger Triad for more...
Weapons: 

Remington 700 ADL (6mm)
Universal M1 carbine
Remington Model 141 (.35-caliber)
Sears Model 60 Semi-automatic shotgun (12 gauge)
S&W Model 19 (.357 Magnum)
Luger P08 (9mm)
Galesi-Brescia (.25 ACP)
Knife

Weapons obtained: Unknown
Training: Lifelong gun enthusiast, taught by father. Former U.S. Marine sharpshooter, trained sniper.
Legal purchases: All weapons purchased appear to have been legal under laws at the time.

Aftermath: The Texas Tower shooting was not the only act of gun violence in the 60's that had changed America forever. President John Kennedy was assassinated on November 22, 1963, Attorney General Robert Kennedy on June 5, 1968 and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968. President Kennedy specifically was killed using a rifle purchased through a mail-order for $19.95 from an ad in National Rifle Association (NRA) magazine American Rifleman.

At the time NRA Executive Vice-President Franklin Orth testified before congress that... "We do not think that any sane American, who calls himself an American, can object to placing into this bill the instrument which killed the president of the United States."

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Gun Control Act of 1968 into law

Resulting legislation: The Gun Control Act of 1968

"Some of you may be interested in knowing-really-what this bill does: --It stops murder by mail order. It bars the interstate sale of all guns and the bullets that load them.

--It stops the sale of lethal weapons to those too young to bear their terrible responsibility.

--It puts up a big "off-limits" sign, to stop gunrunners from dumping cheap foreign "$10 specials" on the shores of our country." 

~Lyndon B. Johnson 

The Shooting: 
The University of Texas campus had begun this day as it would any other, but at 11:48 am, the first shots rang out, a pregnant young woman dropped to the ground unable to move. Her unborn child lying still within her. Her fiancé dead beside her. She laid there on the blistering concrete for the next 90 minutes, while around her a war zone unfolded.

Because of his vantage point, and the protection it afforded, it was extremely difficult to stop this shooter. The police, armed only with pistols and shotguns were out gunned. Civilians began showing up with their own weapons to help stop the attack.

Most of the dead and wounded were struck in the first 20 minutes, before the citizen army arrived. It is estimated that between 1 and 2 dozen citizens fired back on the sniper than day. They were unable to kill the shooter from the ground, or from a plane, but they were able to pin him down and limit the damage while officers closed in.

The entire shooting lasted 96 minutes. All told 31 people were injured, and 17 people killed that day, with the final victim succumbing to complications from injuries many years later.

The shooting info is accurate,
the weapons and politics not so much... 

Conspiracy theories: There is a widely held Internet rumor that Charles Whitman was a Democrat. None of the information left behind pointed to a political registration in any party, nor did his writings indicate any political interests whatsoever.

The weapons on his person at the time of death were as follows: Remington 700 ADL (6mm), Universal M1 carbine, Remington Model 141 (.35-caliber), Sears Model 60 Semi-automatic shotgun (12 gauge), S&W Model 19 (.357 Magnum), Luger P08 (9mm), Galesi-Brescia (.25 ACP), and a knife.

This meme does conveniently fail to mention that he was a reported amphetamine addict with a brain tumor. It also neglects the fact that he was was a military trained sniper with combat history, who was court marshaled for having an illegal firearm on base and threatening other Marines. BeingFactual.com gives a breakdown of the flaws in this meme.

FAIL!