The University of Texas Tower Shooting
He went from an ordinary Joe to a mass murderer.
Charles Whitman lived an everyday, average life — an intelligent person who found love and was described as aspirational. But then something in him changed, and he committed one of the biggest and deadliest mass shootings in U.S. History.
Charles Whitman
Charles Joseph Whitman was born in Florida on June 24th, 1941, to Margaret and Charles Whitman Jr. His father was known to have been abusive towards his wife and children, but despite this, Charles was known, during his childhood, as the opposite of who his father was. Charles was kind, polite, and extremely intelligent, with an IQ of 139. Because of his intelligence, expectations for him were high from his parents, and if otherwise, there was discipline from his father.
Whitman’s familiarity with guns began as a young boy, as his father was an avid firearms collector and was taught to shoot and clean them. Because of this, Charles became an avid marksman.
After graduating high school, Charles enlisted in the Marines unbeknownst to his parents. During the first eighteen months, Whitman sharpened his shooting skills. After applying for a scholarship to college from the Marines, Charles eventually attended the University of Texas at Austin…
