I was checking out BlogCritics today and found this post about Charles Whitman[wiki]. He’s a guy that I had always known about, but never knew who he was. You know what I mean? There are things you know that happened in history, but you never know the whole story.
Here in Austin this was a big day in the media, though not one recognized nationwide. Forty years ago today a troubled ex-Marine named Charles Whitman climbed the clock tower of the University of Texas administration building and began to gun down students and passersby on the south and west malls of the University and on nearby Guadalupe Street.
Before heading to the University Whitman had killed his mother and his wife in their home, leaving behind a detailed suicide note with instructions to give his estate to psychological research and do an autopsy to determine if there was something physically wrong with his brain. As it turned out there was a tumor in his hypothalamus which may have been pressing on his amygdala and altering his emotional state.
He was able to get a footlocker and a small wooden crate full of guns into the building and to the top of the 27-story tower, including a Remington 700 rifle with a hunting scope, an M1 Carbine, another rifle, a shotgun and a variety of small arms. He started firing at 11:48 and ultimately killed 16 people and wounded another 31. [blogcritics]
Weird part is that I’ve been to Austin for SXSW and seen that tower. I never knew that’s where this event took place. You see this story copied into TV shows and movies all the time. It’s a morbid thought, but now I’ve got the facts a little more straight.