Below are excerpts and links to some of the most relevant and/or recent articles about the UT Tower Shooting.
Out of the Blue. A Texas Standard Documentary.
In this audio interview, Ramiro Martinez describes confronting and shooting the sniper on the UT Tower observation deck. Read more >>
From Gonzales Inquirer: Retired Texas Ranger Tells His Life Story in New Book
Ramiro “Ray” Martinez, in 2005, discusses his newly released autobiography, They Call Me Ranger Ray. Read more >>
UT Tower Sniper Shook Nation 40 Years Ago Today
Reflections on the UT Tower shooting written for the 40th anniversary of the incident. Read more >>
96 Minutes
A look at the UT Tower shooting in the words of those who were wounded, lost loved ones, saved lives by risking their own, and otherwise witnessed the events of that day. Read more >>
Shooting Brings Back Memories of 1966 UT Tower Killings for Officer Who Stopped Gunman
“When Ramiro “Ray” Martinez heard news of Tuesday’s shooting… at the University of Texas in Austin, his mind snapped back 44 years to a far more tragic rampage on the campus.” Read more >>
UT Tower Shooting: The Survivors’ Stories
“An oral history of the hours which changed Austin and American history forever – from the people who were there, recalling memories as vividly today as the day it happened 50 years ago.” Read more >>
Austin Reflects on UT Tower Shooting 50 Years After Tragic Event
“Hundreds of students and others at UT witnessed the hour-and-a-half rampage, which encompassed five city blocks of the campus. The incident is the most painful in the university’s history.” Read more >>
LOOK BACK: Live News Coverage of 1966 UT Tower Shooting
“As Charles Whitman was… firing freely from the top of the University of Texas Tower, public television station KLRN… had a unique vantage point from their studios on the UT campus. [They] provided what is thought to be the first live televised moment-by-moment account of a local breaking news situation directly from the scene.” Read more >>
My Family Was Once Decimated by a Lone Gunman. Now the Horror is Resurfacing.
After the UT Tower sniper killed two of his family members, and horribly wounded two others, Jim Gabour laments how commonplace mass shootings have become. Read more >>
Memorial Day
“Only now, five decades later, is the university finally installing a proper memorial to commemorate the victims. On August 1, the fiftieth anniversary of the massacre, a stone monument bearing the victims’ names will at last be unveiled on campus.” Read more >>
SXSW Documentary Winner ‘Tower’, About 1966 University of Texas Mass Shooting, Sells to Kino Lorber
“Kino Lorber acquires U.S. distribution rights to Keith Maitland’s animated documentary, TOWER, and announces plans for a national roll out in October 2016. The national release will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the University of Texas Tower shooting.” Read more >>
Nearly 50 Years Ago, Bravery at a UT Tower
“On Aug. 1, 1966, a sniper started killing civilians from the observation deck of the University of Texas Tower. Former Austin Police Officer Ramiro “Ray” Martinez led the charge to stop the killings.” Read more >>
In Wake of Orlando Shooting, ‘Tower’ Offers Context
“Award-winning documentary, TOWER, offers context in wake of the Orlando, Fla., killings that took place on June 12, 2016.” Read more >>
Deadliest Mass Shootings in U.S. History Fast Facts
“CNN Wires compiles a list of the deadliest single-day mass shootings in U.S. history from 1949 through mid-June 2016.” Read more >>
50 Years After the UT Tower Attack: Lessons for Law Officers Remain Timely as Ever
“Former Austin Police Officer Ramiro “Ray” Martinez was criticized after he confronted the UT Tower sniper without waiting for backup. Today, nearly 50 years later, police officers are trained to stop active shooters as soon as possible, even before backup arrives.” Read more >>
The School Shooting That Shocked the Nation – 50 Years Later
“The 1966 sniper attack from the University of Texas Tower left the country in shock. ‘It was the first time, we as a nation, had to contend with a crazed shooter on a school campus. It would certainly not be the last.’” Read more >>
‘TOWER’ Provides a Gripping New Look at the 1966 UT Shooting
“From its earliest moments, TOWER, the new documentary by Austin director Keith Maitland and winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the SXSW Film Festival last week, holds the viewer in its grip.” Read more >>
Doc Quigg’s Report on Texas Tower Shooting
“A date with a beautiful girl… a yen to leave business and teach… a sudden electrical power failure to be fixed… class letting out early — many things brought 46 victims within range of (the sniper’s) guns in the tower area at high noon— 13 of them to be killed on Aug. 1, 1966.” Read more >>
The Reckoning
“Fifty years ago, when Claire Wilson was 18, she was critically wounded during the 1966 University of Texas Tower shooting – the first massacre of its kind. How does the path of a bullet change a life?” Read more >>
Hero of UT Tower Killing Speaks in Victoria
“Ray Martinez, former Austin police officer, describes how he put an end to Charles Whitman’s shooting rampage from the top of The University of Texas’ Tower August 1, 1966.” Read more >>
Eberly: Consider an Educational Memorial for UT Tower Shootings
“If the university wants to support a truly useful memorial to the many victims of the Tower shootings… With any physical memorial there should be an educational memorial to the victims of the Tower shootings.” Read more >>
UT Tower Shooting Survivors Creating Long-Overdue Memorial
“August 1st will mark the 50th anniversary of the UT Tower Shooting, and a group of people who were there when it happened are working to make sure a long-overdue memorial is put in place by them.” Read more >>
Texas Campus Carry to Take Effect on 50th Anniversary of Tower Massacre
“On Aug. 1, 2016 — the 50th anniversary of the Charles Whitman UT Tower shooting — Senate Bill 11 will go into effect, making it legal for concealed handgun licensees to pack heat on Texas campuses.” Read more >>
After 48 Years, Whitman’s Unborn Victim Gets a Headstone
“When a sniper began shooting civilians from the University of Texas Tower, his first victim on the ground was the unborn child of Claire Wilson. More than 48 years later, a headstone is now in place for Baby Boy Wilson.” Read more >>
Why the Mock Mass Shooting Matters
“Why a small gun rights group protected campus gun-free zones with a fake mass shooting at University of Texas at Austin – and why the mock shooting matters.” Read more >>
