"[brightmusic] [engineturnsover]" "[radioadjusting]" "Thisis NealSpelce in Red Rover ontheUniversity of Texas campus." "This is a warning to the citizens of Austin." "Stay away from the University area." "Stay away from the University area." "There is a sniper on the University Tower firing at will." "[gunshot] [softpianomusic] [gunshot]" "♪ Bahda bahdadada ♪" "♪Bahda bahdadada ♪" "♪Bahda bahdadada ♪" "♪ Monday,Monday♪" "♪ Bahda bahdadada ♪" "♪ Sogoodtome♪" "♪ Bahda bahdadada ♪" "Wehadtaken an anthropology test sowegotout ofclass early that day." "MyboyfriendTomand I were drinking coffee attheChuckWagon at the Student Union." "[peoplechattering]" " Hey, Claire." "[indistinct chattering]" "Weknewthat if we didn't go quickly and put another nickel in the meter, we'd get a pink slip andwealreadyhad two ." "Ithinkif youhad three, youcouldn'tparkoncampus any longer." " ♪ Sometimes it just turns out that way ♪" "♪ Oh,Mondaymornin'♪" "♪Yougavemenowarnin'♪" " We were kind of disagreeing." "Well,hewasworried that I wasn't getting enough nutrition for the baby." "And I said, "Well, Tom, I had orange juice this morning."" "♪♪  [gunshot]" "Ijustfeltthis..." "This huge jolt." "[gunshot]" "LikeI 'dsteppedon  a live wire." "Like I'd been electrocuted." "Tomsaid" " Baby!" " And reached out for me, and then... [gunshot]" "[gunshot] [heavy breathing]" " What're you doing?" "Get up from there." " Please call a doctor!" " Get your books." "[gunshot]" " Please!" "Help us!" "[sombermusic]" "♪♪" "♪ Everyotherday ♪ - ♪ Every other day ♪" "♪Everyotherday ♪" "♪Everyotherday  of the week is fine ♪" "I hadapaperroutearound the University of Texas." "It was the biggest route in Austin and everybody wanted to get that route." "Ihadmy cousinwithme." "Sometimeshewouldhelpme with my paper route." "Iwasnotsupposed to work that day." "Theregularguywas supposed togetbackfromvacation that day." "Atabout10 :00thatmorning, the paper called me and asked if I could do that route one more day." "♪ ButMondaymornin'♪" "♪Mondaymornin' couldn't guarantee ♪" "♪That--♪ [radio adjusting] [slowcountrymusic]" "♪♪" "I waseither filling out reports or... just taking it easy a little bit." "Listeningtomy radio." "On the Country Western." "[up-tempocountrymusic]" "Idorememberone song that played that morning was" Waterloo."" "♪ Waterloo♪" "I kindafelt that after that day..." "Well, here's your Waterloo coming up for somebody." "♪ Everypuppyhas its day ♪" "♪Everybodyhastopay♪" "♪Everybodyhastomeet  his Waterloo ♪" "Itwashot thatday." "Itmust'vebeen 100 degrees." "[faintpopping] I started making my deliveries andI heardsomesounds, like popping." "Itsoundedlikefirecrackers." "[pop] [pop] [gunshot]" "[gunshot]" "[KTBCRadiojingleplays]" "♪ Austin,Texas♪" "August1ststartedout asa typicalsummerday  in Austin, Texas." "And it was a day that you sat around, frankly." "Andweweretrying to decide..." "Okay,whatdo we  cover today?" "[spottypolicedispatch]" " Main Tower..." "University of Texas..." " Then the radio called my number and I was trying to make out what they were saying, butitjustwasn't coming through." "[static]" " I..." "I can't..." "I can't make out what you're saying." "You keep cutting out now." "Hesaidsomethin''bout..." " 44...108..." "FinallyIdecipher University of Texas." "So..." "IjustsaidIwasheaded toward the University of Texas." " We had police radios, of course, throughout the newsroom." "Andthen,withinseconds..." " There's a guy on top of the Tower and he's shooting." "Shooting at people, and they're dispatching officers as best they can to the scene." " Police operator." " This is Michael Hall, there's just been a gunshot right in front of the Tower." "[gunshot]" " I heard what I thought were two firecrackers." "And I thought, "Somebody still has firecrackers from the Fourth of July."" "Policeoperator." "Hi,thisistheDepartment of English at the University." "Someonehasbeenshot, we believe, outside." "Someoneisshooting from the Tower." " I was in Shakespeare class when it started." "And we all ran to the windows of the English Building." "[gunshot]" "We just stood there peering out over each other's shoulders." "[gunshot]" " I realized that there was someone shooting from the Tower and that if I could see him, he could see me." " There are snipers." "Somebody has shot four different people." "[gunshot]" "Yes,ma 'am, it's been reported." "Shesaysfourpeople have been shot up there so far." " As I ran behind the car, the shot from the rifle soundedlike it was almost in my ear, andI couldhear the bullet ricochet." "When I asked if anyone had been hit, someonesaidfivepeople, including a little boy on a bicycle." "[gunshot]" "WhenIgot shot, we both fell down." "[gunshot] [earsringing]" " You're gonna be okay." "You're gonna be okay, honey." "He's gonna be okay." "[faintgunshot]" " My God, what happened?" " He's been shot." "[gunshot]" "I hadbeenworkingat the University of Texas Co-Op since 8:30 A.M." "Inoticedacrossthe street a small group." " What's going on?" " Looks like a fight." "[traffic bustling]" "Igotacrossthe street and found theboyhadbeenshot ." "All right, let's stop this bleeding here." "AndsoItriedtostop the flow of blood." "You okay?" "You're gonna be all right." "[gunshots]" "I heard reports that I recognized as gunshots but I could not tell where they were coming from." "[gunshot]" "I didn'tknow what had happened at all." "[gunshot]" "IthoughtthatIfelt  the baby kind of... falltotheside?" "SoI thoughthe probably wasn't alive any longer." "Youknow,by theeighthmonth your baby's moving a lot and...afterI gotshot, the baby never moved." ""Tom?"I calledouttohim." "Tom..." "ButTomneversaid another word." "[cries]" "[countryWesternmusic]" "♪♪" "Youknow,I-I thought it was already over with." "Lawman gets there, and by then it's usually over with, you know?" "♪ Texas♪" "♪Youknowthatweloveyou♪" "♪Andwe praiseyou ♪" "♪Wewantyou toknow ♪ [gunshot] [radioclicksoff]" "ThenI-Ifinallyrealized something was happening that I ain't ever seen before." "[loudgunshot]" "Ijustthought--There's a thousand windows up there, and a thousand Black Panthers." "A revolution." "[gunshot]" "Andthehairjuststoodup on the back of my neck." "[gunshot]" "AndI mustsayIwasscared." "It was bigger than me." "[Towerbellringing]" " There's a guy on top of the Tower and he's shooting." "Shooting at people." "I toldthediscjockey on duty." "I says," ""Give us some news intro music and throw it to me."" "[newsintromusic]" "AndI 'lltakeit  from there." "Ibeganmy broadcastasI was driving up to the Tower." ""ThisisNealSpelce in Red Rover" ""ontheUniversityofTexas campus." ""This is a warning to the citizens of Austin." ""Stay away from the University area." ""There is a sniper on the University Tower" ""firing at will." [gunshot]" " Well, I was just expecting another routine day." "Ihaddroppedmydaughters off at daycare, mywifewasatwork , and my shift didn't start until 3:00 P.M." " ..." "Clean look to your carpets." "This Austin vacuum rebuilt Hoover beats as it sweeps" " This is a KLRN news bulletin." "A sniper with a high-powered rifle has taken up a position on the observation deck of the Tower on the campus of the University of Texas." " So I got on the telephone." "Policeoperator." " Hey, this is Martinez." "Do they need anybody?" " Pardon me?" " And I called the station." "This is Martinez." "Do they need anybody?" " Captain Martinez is on." "Do you want him to come out?" "[gunshot] Uh, yes, Sir." "He'd,uh,he 'dlikeyou  to come on out if you will." "Okay,I'llberightover." "Okay,that's at the University." "ThenIcalledmywife at work and I said," ""Dear,I 'mgonnago there." ""Butdon'tworry'cause I'm gonna go work traffic."" " I couldn't get back across the street because I figured I might get shot myself." "Imovedon  to the next building." "[gunshot]" "Itriedto find a telephone to call my wife." "Mywifeknew it was my lunch hour andI knew that she would worry." "So..." "[gunshot]" "IknewthatifI could make it to the Tower thatI couldmakecontact with the store... [slow-mogunshot]" "Andmywife." "[schoolbellrings]" "♪ Whataday  for a daydream ♪" "♪Whataday  for a daydreaming boy ♪" "I wentto highschool at Austin High." "GraduatedMayof '66." "Iwantedto getfreshman English out of the way so I started at the University of Texas in the summer." "♪ Andeveniftime  ain't really on my side ♪" "♪It'soneofthosedays for taking a walk outside ♪" "Wewenttoclassthat morning, andthenduring the lunch break" "I went over to play chess with James Love." "♪ Andfallonmyface♪" "♪Onsomebody's new mowed lawn ♪" "JamesandIhadgraduated fromAustinHightogether in May." "AndI wentovertowhere he lived at the STAG Co-Op." "♪ SinceIwokeuptoday ♪" "♪It'sstarringme and my sweet dream ♪" "Wewerelistening to the Top 40 andplayingchess in his room." "[recordscratches]" "Weinterruptthisprogram to bring you aspecialbulletin from ABC Radio." " They said somebody was on top of the Tower with an air rifle." " Air rifle?" "[chuckles]" " Shooting with an air rifle." "Didn't sound dangerous to us." "Sounded exciting." " You wanna go check it out?" " Yeah, let's go." "[upbeatrockmusic]" "♪♪" "♪ Thingsmaygo and things may stay ♪" " We were just walking down the middle of a road and a guy waved at us." ""Getout,"youknow?" ""Get under cover."" "[gunshot]" ""Getoutof thestreet."" "[gunshot]" "Andthat was the first sign we had thatthings were "bad" wrong." "[faintgunshots]" "BythetimethatJamesandI had walked onto campus..." "I'm sure over a dozen people had been murdered... and we didn't know it." "Thisis aKLRN news bulletin." "Asniper with a high-powered rifle isfiringat persons within his range." "AllAustin-arearesidents are warned tostayawayfrom the University of Texas area." " It's an unbelievable sight." "The serene University of Texas campus, atemperatureapproaching 100 degrees now, anda madmanlocatedontop of the University Tower firingandshootingatany movable target that he can see." " The shot that hit me bypassed me andricocheted off the building." "Everybodywas in a state of panic." "Thenwhathappened?" " Then everybody ran." " It's like a battle scene." "It's like--There he goes!" "And another shot." "There are two different kinds of shots." "Apparentlypoliceare returning the fire now." " I got lucky, considering what happened to other people." "There'sno report as to who this man may be, orwhathe 'sdoingupthere, orwhatprompted this apparent madness." " We passed the steps to the Undergraduate Library." "As we were about to the corner, he shot." "[gunshots]" "AndI laidthere for about..." "Oh, probably 15 or 20 minutes." " We didn't know who was being killed." "Studentsoncampus were being shot." "People were dying." "[gunshots]" " It was just chaos." "I waslooking through the binoculars when all of a sudden I realized, he's pointing that rifle right at me." "I couldn't believe how close I'd gotten to being shot." "Wecansee the movement under the clock onthesouthsideof the University of Texas Tower, andpolicearereturning the fire." " There's this guy who's shooting at everyone he can see." "What is the matter with him?" "Themanislocated on the University Tower observationdeck." "Belowtheclock which now shows 12:25 andisshooting." "He's shooting our direction." " There was a lot of suffering, and we were helpless to do anything about it." "[sirenswailing]" "I seeallofthis blood." "AndI think..." ""I didn't get a chance to say good-bye to my mom and dad, or anything."" "[softpianomusic]" "♪♪" "Theambulancedriver got a call." "Right around the corner, there was another person that they wanted him to pick up." "Lookingoutthatwindow, it was just a direct shot." "AndofcourseI'm thinking," ""Ifwedon't get out of here quick," ""I'm gonna get shot again."" "Heknockedaboy off a bicycle." "Heshotwindows out of the Texas Union." "[gunshots]" "Moreambulances are screaming upanddown the University drag, andtheambulances are apparently carrying thosepersons who we had reported aslyingon thesidewalk shotinfront of the Varsity Theater andotherbuildingsalong the University drag." "TheUniversityarea has been cordoned off andsofarwe'vehadreports of people being shuttled to the hospital via ambulances frompracticallyall the funeral homes in the city." "I didn'tknowatthetime,  butI waslosing a lot of blood." "I felt like I was melting." "[panting]" "Theheatwasjustdeadly." "Thepavementwassohot thatitwasburning the backs of my legs." " There was a bunch of students, and I just hollered out" ""Anybody got a rifle?"" "Some old boy said he did." "[gunshot]" " Do you wanna?" " Yeah." "Itooktheriflefirst." "But,see, I've never shot a scope." "Iwasraisedapoor boy,  and.22thebiggestthing I ever shot." "Iwasshaking." "Andwhatit wasis..." "Well, it wasn't a nervous shake..." "It was the wobble." "Yeah, the wobble." "Ijustcouldn'tget  the crosshairs tocenterin on nothin'." "Thatboysaidhecould and... [chuckles]" "Lord knows he had better eyes than I did." " We were in Parlin Hall when Billy Speed was shot." "[gunshot]" "My God, he hit the cop." " Billy Speed." "[sighs] [gunshot] I glanced down andI sawBillyget hit ." "Billy!" " We have a man here, just came from the base of the Tower." "What's your name please, sir?" " Leland Ammons." " Better duck down a little bit here." "You were standing beside the policeman when he was shot?" " Yes." " Was there just one shot fired?" "Uh,well,hewas- - He opened fire on us when he saw the, uh, policeman with a shotgun converging." "The policeman was walking, he shot him through the, uh, support near the statue of Jefferson Davis." " The shots came near you at the time, though?" " Oh, yes." "There were shots all around." " A couple of students crept out the back door and made their way to him." "Agirlhadtakenoffherslip and was using it to try to stanch the bleeding, but he was bleeding a lot." "Theguythatwas withher had gotten a little tin cup andhadfilleditwith water." "It was just like the cowboy movies, right?" "We,uh , did all we could for him." "But whether he was still conscious when they carried him off in the ambulance, we don't know." "Maybe it could be a superficial wound." "[gunshot]" " Billy!" " I saw him get hit here." "So I-I thought he was gonna be all right, you know?" "Thatwasthe moment that separated thebravepeople from the scared people." "Iknewthattherewasnoway  that I was going to go out there and help him." "I didn't wanna get shot." "Thatwasadefiningmoment because I realized I was a coward." "I metup withBilly not a couple hours before that." "Wejusttalked a little while." "Justa goodol 'boy conversation." "Hewasgonnaquit ." "He said..." "Hewasgonnawork a couple more months and then he was gonna quit and go back to college." "And that's just what he was gonna do." "And uh, you know, his wife just had a baby and everything." "[gunshot]" " If I see someone" " He asked me." "He said..." " Do I shoot him?" " And I said..." "[chuckles]" ""You shoot the shit out of him."" "[gunshot] [gunshot]" " Before I got into the Tower, and this is not too nice, I took up a position behinda column at the Academic Center." "[gunshot]" "AndI gavehim the I-talian digit." "[gunshot]" "Hefiredonceatthecolumn and hit it." "But he didn't do it again." "Iwaiteduntilthe individual started firing ontheeastside of the Tower-- [gunshot]" "And then ran across the street into the Tower Building." "[gunshot]" "[gunshots]" "Youcouldsee the bodies lying on the campus." "OntheMainMall." "[gunshot]" "And we knew then that there was nothing thatcouldbe done from that office." "So we were inextricably drawn closer." "Wegotup to thestatue of Jefferson Davis." "Peoplesaythatthatstatue should be taken down, thatthatstatue has no place being there because of Jefferson Davis and all he represents." "Butatleastonthat day,  it gave me a little shelter." "AcrossfromtheMainMall , there was about adozenstudents there as well, alllooking at the bodies laying there." "Anditwasfrustrating, I guess." "Somethinghasto be done, but if I go out there?" "[gunshot] I might die." "[cameraclicking]" " It was like a frozen snapshot." "[cameraclicks]" "Obviouslysomepeople were still alive andhidingbehind small things." "Acouplepeople seemed really...dead." "I've never seen a dead body." "Ididn'tcare if they bombed the Tower." "I just wanted a plane to come and take that guy out." " What else did you see as you came through the campus?" "Did you see any other injured persons?" " There's several people laying out on the Mall at this time." "Three of them may be shot, andtheothersmay just be laying there." "[gunshot]" "A womanwaslying on her back on the Mall, and she was obviously pregnant andinobviouspain." "It was hard to watch her andtoknowthatnoone could get to her withoutbeingshot themselves." "Underthebase of the Tower, therewerealot  of people there." "Andtheywereyelling." "Theyweresaying," ""We'vegottahelp that pregnant woman!"" "Andthensomebodyelse yelled out," ""No, we've gotta help the ones that there is still hope for."" "So I thought..." "Well..." "I probably wasn't gonna get help." " Has any effort been made to try to get those persons out?" "[gunshots] Another shot." "He's still firing repeatedlyfrom the University Tower." "I wastryingtofigureout what was happening." "I didn't feel pain." "It felt more like something really heavy" "was pressing down on me." "I thought it felt like an invasion from outer space becauseI feltlike I'd been shot bysomekind of antimatter gun." "Itfeltlikethat's what was happening." "[radiofrequencies]" "ThatI wasjust...dissolving." "[frequenciesintensify]" "[faintfootsteps]" "Thenatsomepoint a girl ran up." " Please he..." " Are you all right?" "Let me help you." " She came up andkindof kneltoverme." "Andherhair..." "It was red and coming down." "[gunshots]" " Go." "Go." "[gunshots]" " Get down." " What's your name?" " It's Claire." " Claire?" "I'm Rita." "I'm here with you now, okay?" " Her name was Rita." "[gunshot]" "I triedto call the store and my wife." "[busysignal] [sighs]" "Thelineswerebusy." "IsawOfficerDay ." "He was alone." "[indistinct chatter]" "Iwentup to him and I offered my help to him." " Let's go this way." " All right." "Asit wenton, Imoved forward a little bit more." "Kindofinchingaround, gettinga littlebit different viewpoint, thatsortathing, as we kept broadcasting." "[gunshots]" "Ithinkit 's kind of a natural instinct." ""Hey,I gottagetcloser." "I gotta see what's going on."" "We are not sure that the police are returning the fire, butwedo hearthe shots and we do..." "ButI wasn't,believeme..." "[gunshot]" "I wasn't trying to put myself in harm's way." "Under the clock on the south side of the University of Texas Tower, and police are returning the fire." "[gunshot]" " I saw this airplane." "circlingthetower." "Itwasasingle-engine small airplane." "But the drafts of the heat and the wind, the airplane just couldn't get a steady shot of the sniper." "TheAustinPoliceDepartment, they didn't have weapons that would reach from the ground to the top of the Tower." "[gunshot]" " It was like a war." "There were gunshots coming from everywhere." "Atonepoint, I saw a civilian carryinga deerrifle coming from behind me andrunningtowardthe Tower." " I don't know where these vigilantes came from, butParlinHallwas filled with civilians with huge guns andtheybegantoshootback." "There was massive testosterone." "Thiswasanaveragecitizen who heard my report on the radio and decided to come help." "We didn't know it at the time, butwhatwashappening was my radio broadcast..." "Thefeedsweremade to the radio networks andtoallthe othernews  outlets around the country." "Atapproximately12: 15, the phones at KTBC begantoringwithrequests for phone reports toradiostationsall over the North American proper." "Reportswererecorded for radio stations inAnchorage,Alaska, Halifax, Nova Scotia," "SanDiego,California, and even from Honolulu, Hawaii." "Repeating--Asniper with a high-powered rifle hastakenup aposition on the Tower atthecampus at the University of Texas." "Tobringyou  a special bulletin from KTBC..." "Alloverthe UnitedStates, radio stations were calling in to get a report ofwhat'sgoingoninAustin." "Youarelookingat the University of Texas Tower inAustinlive." "Thereisasniper or more than one sniper locatedonthatridge right there under the clock." "Oneboywasshotwhile sitting in the Union throughthewindow." "Twoothershavebeen reported shot on the drag," "GuadalupeStreet." "Therearepeoplehiding behind trees allovertheUniversity of Texas campus." "Severalarepinneddown behind retaining walls in front of the main building." "Peoplearewarned to stay out oftheUniversity of Texas area." "Thisisalivecamera, coming to you fromKLRNChannel9." " I really didn't know what to expect." "UniversityTower observation deck..." "Belowthe--Belowtheclock, and is shooting." "He'sshootingourdirection." "Wejustsawapuff ofsmoke , he's firing again." "It'sa battlenow." "It'sa battlebetween the sniper and the police." "I couldhear all the shooting." "[gunshots] [sirens wailing]" "Hearthesirens." "Iknewit wasadisaster, so to speak, becausetheonlyones with sirens were ambulances." "[gunshot]" "I sawOfficerMartinez there at 21st Street." "Martinez!" "Hey, Officer!" "AndI holleredouttohim,  but he didn't hear me." "[gunshot]" "I triedto keepmyself from being able toseethetop oftheTower  becauseI knewif Icouldsee the top of the Tower, thesnipercouldsee me." "IranuntilIgot to the South Mall bytheJeffersonDavis statue." "[gunshot] [gunshot] There were wounded people... anddeadpeople," "peoplewhoseconditions I did not know, lyingthereon thesidewalk." "[gunshot] [gunshots]" "Therewasapregnantwoman that was twisting andwilting in the hot sun." "Mytrainingin thearmy had taught me you establish a command post right away." "Thenyourorganize an assault team." "[gunshot]" "IthoughtmaybeIcould go into the Tower andassistthepeople that were going there." "[gunshots]" "Mymissionwastoget into the Tower." " Don't worry." " We're gonna be okay." "[gunshots]" " I'm tired." " Yeah, it won't be much longer now." "Don't worry." "Welaythere and just talked... [gunshot]" "Whichwaskindofwonderful becauseitkeptmeconscious." "And I don't know what would've happened had I been unconscious." " Where did--Where did you go to high school, Claire?" "I thinkwe triedtotalk  about who I was andwhoTomwas ." " Claire, what classes..." "What classes are you taking this semester?" " I'm taking anthropology..." "With Tom." " Tell me about Tom." " Tom Eckman." "I met Tom Eckman, Thomas Frederick Eckman, when I was beginning the sixth month of my pregnancy." "♪ Yellowis thecolor♪" "AndIwas visibly, noticeably pregnant." "♪ Inthemorning♪" "Hewastryingtofigureout whether I was pregnant orjustchubby." "♪ Whenwe rise♪" "I thought he was beautiful." "♪ That'sthetime♪ - ♪ That's the time ♪" "♪ That'sthetime♪ - ♪ That's the time ♪" "Hewaskindofamazing and wonderful." "I don't know, we were just...in love." "You know, just really, totally connected to each other." "Hejusttalkedtome about everything." "Abouthiswholelife." "♪ Inthemorning♪" "Helaughedalot." "Playedthebanjo, which was really cool." "Hewantedto be apoet." "♪ That'sthetime♪ - ♪ That's the time ♪" "♪ That'sthetime♪ - ♪ I love the best ♪" "Andwe weresohappy." "Wewerejustreally, really happy." "♪ Blueis thecolor of the sky ♪" "Wejust couldn't stay apart, sohemovedinwith us." "♪ Inthemorning♪" "♪Whenwe rise♪" "I don'tknow, we just fell in love and..." "As it turned out, we decided to register for anthropology together." "Claire,canyou hearme?" "Just breathe." "Stay with me, Claire." "Hey." "Can you hear me?" "Stay with me, Claire." "Claire?" " Yeah?" " Can you hear me?" " Yeah." " Yeah." "That's a good girl." "[gunshot] [busysignal]" "You're okay." "[gunshot]" "I pickedup thephone and dialed the first number." "Igotabusysignal because everything was jammed." "Ijustneeded to get upstairs andfindout what the game plan was." "[elevatormoving]" "Oh, my God." "I'm heartily sorry for having offended thee." "I detest all my sins because of thy just punishment, most of all because they offend thee." "My God, you are all good and deserving of all my love." "I firmly resolve with the help of thy grace to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin." "[elevatorstopping] [elevatordings]" "[all sigh]" " What's going on, Jerry?" " Hell, I don't know." " It's good you're here." "90s,Ineedaunit tomeettheUTpolice at the Security Building." " Yeah, this is McCoy." "Go ahead." "Weneedaunit togo  to the UT Security Building andthey'llgo withhim  to the 27th floor." " Uh, okay, you said the campus security booth?" " I'm meeting other officers?" "25to statewide." " 10-4, I'm headed that way now." "HerecomesConnor, Shoquist, Sheppard, and Moe, andtheyhadteargasguns ." "And I asked Phillip." "I said, "Did you bring any shotguns?"" "And he said no." "Wished he had." " Claire?" "Claire?" "Can you hear me still?" "Look at me, Claire." "Look at me." "Shemadesure to keep me talking soI wouldn'tlose consciousness." " Don't worry." "We're gonna be okay." "Butit wasgettingharder and harder for me to answer." "Staywithme." "[gunshot]" "Claire, just look at me." " But she was persistent." "Shekeptaskingmequestions." " It's okay, Claire." "Itwasbeautiful." "[gunshot]" "Aselflessact." " I know it hurts, but just hold on a little longer." "[gunshot]" "Youknow, the sun was directly overhead." "[gunshots]" "I was dressed in all black, like an idiot." "AndI suddenlybegan to feel dizzy." "Nauseous." "Iwassicktomystomach, andI waslosing my coordination." "Shewasso ,so pregnant." "Icouldseeher move." "I knew she was shot and hurt." "Icrawledunderneath the hedges into the shade, whereit'salot cooler and quieter." "Itwasendlesswaiting." "Endless terror." "[gunshot]" "Disappointment and hopelessness that you're not able to do anything to make it stop or to help the people that are suffering." "Every15 minutes..." "[Towerbellrings]" "Thebellwouldringfrom  the top of the UT Tower." "And I'd think, "That's 15 more minutes." ""15 more minutes they were out there on that hot concrete."" "[gunshot]" "I think..." "I just wanted to close my eyes." "Itriednottomove ." " Stay still." "It'll be okay, all right?" "I triedto just act like I was dead sohewouldn't shoot me again." "Theconcretewassohot that at some point" "I just decided, "I can't take it anymore."" "[gunshot]" "WhenIcameout from under those hedges," "Iknewsomething had to be done." "Someonehadto go outthere and get 'em." " I just remember looking up at the sky." "It was so blue." "And just thinking..." ""I guess this is it." " "I guess this is the end."" "That'swhenIdecided to go out there." "Andwehadtomove fast ." "We knew that." "Youcansee there was a camera." "Timemovedstrangely." "Slowly." "IgrabbedClaire'sfeet." "James grabbed Claire's arms." " Tom!" "[crying]" "Tom!" " I've never been more scared." " [laughing] I've never been more scared." "And we ran 'em off." "Weranherintosafety to behind the hedge andsetherdown." "And other people took her where the ambulances were." "[gunshot]" "There'sa ..." "There's a cold spot that I can feel on my back right now." "And when I think about it, it's about the size of a grape." "It's all the w-- Halfway up my spine." "It's halfway between my shoulder blades." "Andit'stheplace I expected thebulletto comein..." "If I was hit." "AsI wentdownthe stairs, the glasses slowly-- I was sweating like a pig." "Theglassesslowly came off my face." "Everythingwasturning into a complete blur for me withoutthoseglasses andI couldn'tseeathing." "Ihadto go backout , out from cover again, topickup my glasses." "Herboyfriend..." "Hewas--Hewasalso carried off." "Oneof thosewho  was out of breath now after running out onto the mall rescuing those who'd been shot is Brehan Ellison of Austin, who's been in Vietnam and has been back for two years." "Brehan, how many have you gone out to rescue?" "Today,two." "Whatdidyou havetodo ?" " Run hard and keep low." " Did you have any trouble getting them up or did any shots come close to you while you were out there?" " No shots came close to me." "Just the last one, he was dead." "He was dead weight." "He was a little hard to pick up." "Too limp, not like someone who's knocked out." " How many have you seen that are dead today?" " Just one." "I hope not any more." "[gunshots]" " I knew what I had to do." "Knowing I had to walk up those stairs was a lonely feeling." " Where you going?" " Up." " I'm going with you." "Whenwe reached the first landing" "Icouldseethe face of a young boy." " Good Lord." "Hiseyeswereopen  and he was dead." "Iquicklyturnedaround the corner andI sawayoungwoman, adeadyoungwoman, lying at his feet." "Andtherewasanotherwoman lying there, andwe...weturnedher  on her side to keep her from drowning in her own blood." "Therewasayoungman that was wounded." "Slumpedagainstthewall, still conscious." " The boy that was at the foot of the stairs saw us." "And Martinez and I asked him how many people were shooting." "[clears throat] And he replied, "One."" "Hesaid,"He 'soutside." [gunshot]" "Andhepointedupstairs." "[gunshots]" " So we playing for keeps?" " Damn right we are." " I guess you better deputize me, then." "I lookedat himand ..." "I thought he was an officer from some other agency." "Consider yourself deputized." "All right, ready?" " I'll cover you." "Weworkedourway  into the room..." "Andfoundawomanlying on her back behind the sofa." " Gotta keep going." "[gunshots]" "The shooting outside sounded just like rolling thunder." "[gunshots]" "You got me?" " I got you." "Martinezwentto thedoor andhehadtrouble getting the door open." " Well, time's passing, but..." "Youdon'tfeellike time's passing." "Do you understand that?" "[gunshots]" " Let's go." "You need to cover that corner." "If anyone comes around there, you shoot 'em." "[gunshots] [gentlepianomusic]" "[Debussy's" ClairdeLune"]" "♪♪" " I'm going to cover this corner." "Your fellow officer went down this way." " Crum said, "Are you going to go out and help your fellow officer?"" "Guess I--Guess I ain't got much choice now, do I?" "I turnedandsaw anofficer I knew, Houston McCoy." "All I had was my .38, so that--that shotgun looked pretty beautiful at that moment." "Get down." "[gunshot]" " The other two officers went this way." "I'll cover you." " Got it." "A picturecametomymind." "My boys and my wife." "Andimmediately it went out of my mind." "I didn't have a fear of being killed, I really didn't." " There was no time to think about fear." "Now, I'd be a fool or I'd be a liar if I were to say I was not scared." "I was scared." "But you put that behind you." "You cannot have fear in front of you and do your job." " I just knew that I wasn't going to allow anybody to make me dead." " I heard the subject running on the walkway." "I fired one round in an attempt to stop him." " What the hell?" " I'm sorry!" "I heard him run the other direction." "It'sgoingtotake longer to tell you than it did to do it." " I emptied my gun." " There was some firing, and then it was all over." "[gunshots]" " By the time I had emptied my pistol..." " By the time I had emptied my pistol..." " McCoy fired." " McCoy was pretty close-- I grabbed that shotgun from McCoy and I shot him one more time as he was hitting the ground." "Afterthatwasdone, my knees felt like rubber." "I felt like I had been hit by a sledgehammer." "I mean all my energy left me." "And I was shaking." "Rounds, bullets were still coming up." "And I said I had enough and I left." "Thecampus, for all practical purposes, hasbeencleared." "Policegotto theTower, and are keeping allthepersons in the University Tower, andthemainpolice are coming out and walking across the campus." "TheUniversityarea has been cordoned off." "I wavedmy handkerchief to stop the firing fromdownon theground." "[gunshots continue]" " Once that flag waved, I knew it was over then." "It was bam-bam-bam-bam." "It was just..." "'Cause we had-- You had dozens of gunmen firing at the Tower from all directions." "Andtheyslowlystopped." "Ladiesandgentlemen, we have this word justintothenewsroom." "Thesniperhasbeenseen  waving a white flag onthewestside of the building." "Accordingtoreports just into our newsroom, thesniperhasbeenseen  waving a white flag onthewestside of the building." "This is Neal Spelce with a bulletin from the KTBC Radio newsroom." "The sniper is dead." "ThisisNealSpelce with a bulletin fromtheKTBCRadionewsroom." "Thesniperis dead." "Thefiringhasnow stopped, and the time is 1:23." "[radioshutsoff]" "When I said, "The sniper is dead," it was like..." " It was like a big..." "[exhales]" "Sigh of relief." "The sirens all of a sudden started getting silent." "The bullets stopped." "Anditwasquiet." "Someonewavedaflag ." "And..." "I walked around." "Therewasbloodeverywhere." "People just surged out of the building." " We all walked up the steps." "It seems like we filled the mall." " It was a few people at first, and then dozens, and then hundreds." "I don'trememberanyone being articulate about what had happened." "Youknow, just shock and awe." "Kind of a blankness." "Theylookedlike they were mesmerized." "They-they weren't hugging each other." "They weren't talking to each other." "Mostofthemwere just kind of milling, walkingaround, as if dazed and wondering," ""What in the world has happened to my world?"" "[cameraclicking]" "Theydidn'tknowthenames  of the people who had died." "And we didn't know what had happened until later that day." "Itwasasad time, a very sad time." "Not only for the people who lost or were losing their loved ones, but for the whole campus, the whole town, and the state." " It was not something you would expect from our beautiful Tower." "I justsatthere and watched people gather." "Itwassomething that I had been a part of foranhourand ahalf ." "Itwasdonefor me." "[sirenswailing]" "TheTravisCounty Blood Bank hasasked to please come immediately." "Thereisan urgentneed for these types of blood" "TypeO-positive," "TypeO-negative, Type A-positive." "I wasbeggingthem not to cut off my dress because it was the first day I'd worn it." "It was my first and only maternity dress." "Itwasverybeautiful." "Tom had helped me pick it out." "Mydadwas workingdowntown in a shoe-repair shop, andthensomebody came up to him andaskedhim if he knew what was going on." "My dad said no." "And the guy said," ""Well, there's been a lot of shooting going on."" " He said, "Yeah, there's a lot of shooting going on." ""And, oh, by the way, your son has been shot and he was killed."" "He went home, picked up my mom, and the two of 'em rushed over to the hospital." "He-he did not want to believe that... until it was something that he-he could... that could be confirmed." "Whereas my mother was responding..." "I guess like a mother." "My parents didn't find out for several hours that I was okay." "It'samadhousehere  at Brackenridge Hospital." "Atleast17 personsare here undergoing treatment." "We have had unconfirmed reports that two persons have died." "Wehavealistofthenames." "Thesenameswere just given to us bythehospital administrator." "Thevictimshavebeen identified as Oscar Royuela," "BillySpeed,RobertBoyer," "PaulSonntag, Roy Schmidt, Billy Snowden" " Joe, hold it." "Hold just a minute." "ThisisPaul over at the newsroom." "Whatwasthatlistofnames  again, please?" " One of the people who came rushing into our newsroom to help out was Paul Bolton." "Hehadgone into semi-retirement andI hadtakenover his position asthetelevision news director." "Paul was working there in the newsroom when Joe read the list of names." "And Paul reacted dramatically at that point." " Roy Schmidt, Billy Snowden" " Joe, hold it." "Holdjustaminute." "ThisisPaul over at the newsroom." "Everyoneisinterested in that list of names." "Ithinkyouhave my grandson on there." "Gooverthatlist of names again, please." " [sniffling]" ""I think you have my..." [sniffles]" ""I think you have my grandson." "I think you have my grandson on that list."" "Uh..." "And Joe said, "Okay." "Okay, I'll do that."" "And he went through the-- The list again." "And, yeah, it was his namesake grandson, Paul Bolton Sonntag." "Didn't know at the time if he'd been killed, but he was." "Frankly, I just broke up now." "I think it's..." "[laughs]" "I think it's because I have grandchildren." "I wasin intensivecare for seven weeks." "Ritacameto seeme when I was in the hospital." " How are you feeling?" " I'm...[clears throat]" "I'm, uh..." "I'm doing better now." " I made you something." "It's nothing much." "I just..." "Shecameand broughtme a painting she had done." "I was just, you know, incredibly touched by her bringing that and,um..." "Ithink that's the only time we saw each other after that." "Only recently I've realized..." "Howreally,amazingly brave that was of her." " Are you all right?" "Let me help you." "We've heard from all sorts of people involved in this how terrified they were." "Andyetshecame right up to me." "Imean, that was very selfless." "Why did you do that, you know?" "What gave you the courage to come out and do that?" "Andwereyouafraid?" "Were you afraid that you were going to get killed?" " For a person to be so giving, has to go lay down on hot concrete on a 100 degree day." "Somehow,youknow, that situation justpulledout that hero in her." "There'saspecialplace in Heaven for people like that." "She's a wonderful woman." "[officebustling]" "Asourvariousreporters and photographers were bringing the film back for processing, we were getting their stories and their information." "As we got a fuller picture of where the damage was andlookedat thefilm, it was even more horrifying..." "Than you could imagine." "KTBCTelevisionNews now presents aspecialprogram on today's mass murder inthecapitalcity." "HereisKTBCTelevision News Editor, Neal Spelce." " Good evening." "One of history's worst mass-murders occurred here in Austin today." "By official count tonight, 49 persons were hit by gunfire." "There are 16 dead and 33 injured." "It started last night, when a man reportedly killed his wife and his mother." "That same man apparently rounded up an arsenal and supplies this morning and then went totheobservationdeckof the University of Texas Tower." "It was then that terror rained down from the Tower." "[gunfire] Charles J. Whitman wasshotdown on the observation deck bytwocitypolicemen." "The policemen were aided by an Austin man, Allen Crum." "Thestoryof howtheyended the 90 minutes of terror was told this afternoon at a news conference held by Austin Police Chief Bob Miles." " Did you guys shoot as soon as you saw him?" " Did anybody ask him to surrender or give up or anything before all the firing started?" " No." "As I said just a moment ago," "Mr.Crumfiredone shot into the west wall" "When Officer Martinez looked around the corner," "Mr. Whitman had his gun leveled out and ready to shoot." "Officer Martinez had no way of knowing whether Officer Day or Mr. Crum had already come out and were in a position to be shot." " At the news conference, of course it was McCoy," "JerryDay, Allen Crum, and myself." " If you don't mind," "I'll do the talking for the group." "And no." "No." "And if I'm wrong," "Mr. Martinez can stop me and, uh, correct me on it." "Thereporters asked questions andChiefMilesanswered all the questions." "Wewerejusttherefor show and tell, so to speak, because he handled it." " The man here beside me is Allen Crum." "He was deputized to go up on the Tower withthetwopolicemen who ended the gun battle." " You got me?" " I got you." " Mr. Crum, could you tell us how you happened to be in the Tower building in the first place?" " Well I, uh..." "[clears throat]" "Became involved in this when I looked out of the Co-Op window and saw a boy shot across the street." "I went across the street to investigate because I thought it was a small fight." "And as I stepped out the door, I heard the sound of shots." " And you actually went into the Tower?" " Yes, sir." "I couldn't get back across the street because of my fear that I might get shot myself." "So I went to the next building, and the next building." "I thought perhaps I could help them when I got over there so I waited 'till he shot from the other side of the Tower andthenranintoitmyself." "Mr.Crum, I know that I speak for all the citizens of Austin in expressing our gratitude to you and to the Austin police officers who put an end to the reign of terror on the University of Texas campus." " I've never known braver men." "Theirdecisions were correct, timelydone, and accomplished in an honorable manner." "If I had to do this over again with these men," "Icertainlywould." "TheChiefof Police offered me a check from the City of Austin for one day's deputized citizen's pay." "Irefusedit ,of course." "Somehow,we endedup out on Airport Boulevard ina vacantlot with a case of Lone Star beer." "Tookoffourweapons, stilldressedin ourblues and everything like that but..." "Wewasn'tpolicemennomore ." "IfI wouldhavejustgone in, if I had just gone rightupto thatelevator, pressed that button to the top floor..." "Gone in and get him done." " Go up and get him done, then Billy Speed would still be alive." " Billy!" " And a lot of other, I'm sure, but..." "But-but-but..." "didn't happen that way." " [sighs]" "Shoulda-coulda." "[chuckles]" "But I didn't." " Shoulda, coulda." "Shoulda..." "Shoulda, coulda." "But didn't." "So..." "I don't know." "Well,to sayithasn 't affected me in my life, it wouldn't be a truthful statement." "But I have, um... tried." "I have tried to just forget it." "Ihateto seepeople get hurt." "But, you know, you have to be realistic and know that these things are gonna happen." "And so you have to have the way how to cope with it, how to take care of the problems." "Ifsomebodywere to ask how you feel, well..." "Well, I'd say no words." "It's something-- I've been asked that before," "How-how did it make you feel?" "And then I kinda have to say, "Well..." ""How would I describe the colors of a rainbow to a person born blind?"" "Youcan't, 'cause there ain't no words." "Uh, I don't know." " This is the shirt that I was wearing." "And I must've weighed about 90 pounds when..." "When this shooting happened." "See that little tear right there?" "It's where the bullet just kinda pew." "[gunshot]" "This is my cousin, Lee Zamora." "He was with me when I was riding the bicycle and delivering newspapers at the University of Texas Tower." "I wasjustthinking, you know," "I've never talked to anyone about this before." "[gunshot] [gunshot] And I thought, you know, maybe it'll help me, you know, do some good to sit and talk about it to someone, you know, for once." "Maybe it's something I need to do." " If you folks had not given us this opportunity," "I would not have seen this cousin of mine." "I do now." "Been a long time." "I mean, almost 50 years." " It was just a whole different world." "Nobodyevertalkedaboutit." " I didn't meet Claire until, uh, a few months ago." "I neverknew who Artly was." "I finally decided maybe he was just an angel or something." " I was 17." "I'd never seen death." "I didn't know anything about guns." "It was nothing but a big, raw, gaping wound, you know, in my psyche." "In my memory." "There has been a passage of time, and... [stuttering]" "It's still raw, but it's not as raw as it once was." "A lotta times, the worst days of your lives are... personal and, uh, private." "Maybe that's why I've..." "I sort of... [stutters]" "Um, hid it inside." "Ifeelguiltybecause I didn't go out soon enough." " Oh, Artly." " You know, that you were..." " Artly." "[laughs]" " Yeah, it's just-- I think--I think guilt comes with events like this." " Yeah, yeah, yeah." " Strange guilt." "UTwasclosedfor one day ." "That was it." "Theycamein  and cleaned up the blood." "I think the university should put up a memorial." "There's still lots of family and lots of friends ofpeoplethatwere killed and injured." " Paul Sonntag, Claudia Rutt," "Robert Boyer, Billy Speed," "Roy Schmidt, Edna Townsley," "Marguerite Lamport, Mark Gabour," "Thomas Eckman, Harry Walchuk," "Thomas Ashton, Thomas Karr," "Karen Griffith, David Gunby, and my baby." "They said I could have babies, but I never got pregnant." "But I got to adopt my child." "Iadoptedmy childSirak." "HewasborninEthiopia andI adoptedhim when he was four." "Andhe'snow27." "I mean, Sirak was a wonderful child." "And there are times, even though his skin is brown and mine's white, there are times when I absolutely cannot remember thathedidn't come out of me." "But the baby..." "I-I dreamed about him from the beginning and I still have dreams that I found him and I have him andI 'msohappy." "But then I'd look away or something and he's gone." "[gunshots]" "I rememberlooking at the Tower, of course, a lot." "And from the Main Mall, you can see there's a biblical line from the Bible." ""Yeshallknowthe truthand the truth shall make you free."" "[gunshot]" "I've thought about it." "[sniffles]" "One of the truths I learned..." "Is that there are monsters that walk among us." "[sirenswailing]" "There are people out there that think unthinkable thoughts andthendo  unthinkable things." "Throughtheyears, he remained largely kind of wooden in my mind." "But the longer I've lived and the more I've seen, these precious little children who grow up and do sometimes horrible things, themoreIhavecome  to think of him asa veryconfused, very damaged young man." "Hediedat about25." "There's a picture of him standing at three years old, holding a rifle on either side on the beach." "I just think of him when he was that three-year-old who would have been sitting in my lap, you know." "I'm a teacher, and I love that age." "So much promise and so much hope." "How can I hate somebody like that?" "I can't hate him, in spite of the incredible damage that he's done." "I can't hate him." "I just can't do that." "Doyouforgivehim?" " I forgive him, yes." "How can I not forgive?" "I've been forgiven so much." "[slowrockmusic]" "♪♪" " The horror of these, the sick among us, must be found in the horror of our hyper civilization." "A strange pandering to violence, a disrespect for life fostered in part by governments which, in pursuit of the doctrine of self-defense, teach their youth to kill and to maim." "Asocietyin which the most popular newspapercartoonstrips, television programs, andmoviesarethose that can invent newmeansof perpetrating bodily harm." "Apeoplewhosomehow can remain silent whiletheirowncivilization seems to crumble undertheforceofthe caveman's philosophy" "Thatmightmakesright." "It seems likely that Charles Joseph Whitman's crime was society's crime." "This is Walter Cronkite." "Good night." "[softrockmusic]" "♪♪" "♪♪" "Somebodysaidtome," ""Why would I want to revisit any of this?" "Why would I wanna dig it up?" That it would be so painful." "Itwasdevastating." "It was devastating." "You know, I still have that loss." "But what's painful is to just not have any sense ofthewholething and not have other people thatknewaboutit,  and that could talk about what happened that day." "That's what was painful." "And so that's been very healing." "You know, just the little things make a huge difference in a big thing like this." "[softpianomusic]" "[Debussy's" ClairdeLune"]" "♪♪" "♪♪" "♪♪" "♪♪" "♪♪" "♪♪" "♪♪" "♪♪" "♪♪" "♪♪" "[engineturnsover]"