Texas Tower shooting of 1966, also called University of Texas clock tower shooting, mass shooting in Austin, Texas, on August 1, 1966, in which Charles Whitman, a student and ex- Marine, fired down from the clock tower on the campus of the University of Texas, killing 14 people and wounding 31 others (one of whom died years later from complications related to his wounds).I'm in my 50s and raised in America so I do have some point of reference. I think the first active shooting I can recall was San Diego McDonalds in the early 80s. The next was Texas Luby's. Gangs hadn't really started shooting each other in large numbers until late 80s early 90s.