A former Marine sniper, Whitman went to the top of a bell tower at the University of Texas-Austin campus and, with a high-powered rifle, shot and killed 14 people and injured dozens more on August 1, 1966. He began his killing spree at 11:50 a.m. and it ended at 1:24 p.m., when his position was stormed by Austin police officers Houston McCoy and Ramiro Martinez, who shot him dead.