Mr. Whitman, a 25-year-old student, Eagle Scout and Marine veteran, killed a receptionist and two members of a visiting family inside the tower. He then went onto the observation deck and began spraying sniper fire, turning a tranquil summertime campus into a scene of chaos and death.
In the half-century since, Mr. Whitman’s savagery has been echoed in mass shootings on other university campuses and at workplaces, elementary schools, post offices, movie theaters and nightclubs. And what seemed unthinkable in 1966 was re-enacted with alarming repetition in places like Columbine High School in Colorado; Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va.; Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.; and the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla.
“When I hear there’s another tragic shooting at a university, my heart breaks and I relive every excruciating moment of pain and mental anguish, knowing what the survivors or loved ones of those who are injured are going to go through,” said Adrian Littlefield, a semiretired minister from Kirbyville, Tex., who was severely wounded in the University of Texas attack.
Mr. Whitman left a devastating carnage. Fourteen campus victims died that day, and more than 30 were wounded. Investigators also discovered that, hours earlier, Mr. Whitman had killed his wife and his mother, leaving behind a note tersely declaring “Both dead.” And, in a grim epilogue 35 years later, a former electrical engineering student, David H. Gunby, died of kidney wounds sustained in the attack, bringing the death toll to 17.
On Monday, the university will dedicate a six-foot-tall red granite marker inscribed with the victims’ names as it observes the 50th anniversary of the darkest day in its history. Such a tribute has been too long coming, some say.
