Charles Joseph Whitman ( June 24 , 1941 – August 1 , 1966 ) was an American mass murderer who became infamous as the " Texas Tower Sniper " . On August 1 , 1966 , he used knives in the slayings of his mother and his wife in their respective homes and then went to the University of Texas in Austin with multiple firearms and began indiscriminately shooting at people . He fatally shot three people inside the university tower . He then went to the tower 's 28th-floor observation deck , where he fired at random people for some 96 minutes , killing an additional 11 people , including an unborn child , and wounding 31 others before he was shot dead by Austin police officer Houston McCoy . Whitman killed a total of 17 people ; the 17th victim died 35 years later from injuries sustained in the attack
Texas Tower Sniper
University of Texas tower shooting
Charles Whitman