Charles Whitman Biography Essay

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Charles Whitman is known for causing a mass shooting at the Tower at the University of Texas in 1966. He came from a wealthy, prominent family in Lake Worth, Florida. His father, C.A. Whitman, was a self-made man, a plumber who had worked and willed his way to the top of his profession and into polite society. He didn’t want to see any signs of weakness in any of his three sons, and he ruled his home dictatorially. His father was a very temperamental man and would abuse Charles and his mother. Charles enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1959. It was important to Charles that he be the best Marine he could be. After years of belittlement and abuse from his father, he was anxious to prove himself as a man. Every opportunity for advancement…show more content…
He spent the majority of his morning buying different weapons at different stores. At around 11:00 a.m. he put on blue coveralls over his clothes, trundled his footlocker to the car, and headed for UT. Charles’s job as a research assistant had provided him with a Carrier Identification Card, which was issued to those with a need to deliver large items onto the campus. Once he arrived at the security checkpoint, he told Jack Rodman, the guard at the checkpoint, that he would be unloading equipment at the Experimental Science Building and that he needed a loading zone permit. As he entered the Tower, no one suspected anything because he just looked like another janitor or maintenance man. When Charles got to the 28th floor observation deck of the Tower he killed the receptionist that supervises the floor. He then killed two people and injured two people that went on the floor while two others ran off for help. After that, he shot at innocent bystanders and people from surrounding buildings and streets, leaving many injured and killed. Austin Police arrived on campus and were trying to make their way to the Tower. Police officers Jerry Day, Houston McCoy, Robert

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