Tower Page #2

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- Well, I was just expecting

another routine day.

I had dropped my daughters

off at daycare,

my wife was at work,

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.

- Police operator.

- 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'd like you

to come on out if you will.

- Okay, I'll be right over.

- Okay, that's

at the University.

- Then I called my wife

at work and I said,

"Dear, I'm gonna go there.

"But don't worry 'cause

I'm gonna go work traffic."

- I couldn't get back

across the street

because I figured

I might get shot myself.

I moved on

to the next building.

[gunshot]

I tried to find

a telephone to call my wife.

My wife knew

it was my lunch hour

and I knew

that she would worry.

So...

[gunshot]

I knew that if I could

make it to the Tower

that I could make contact

with the store...

[slow-mo gunshot]

And my wife.

[school bell rings]

- What a day

for a daydream

What a day

for a daydreaming boy

- I went to high school

at Austin High.

Graduated May of '66.

I wanted to get freshman

English out of the way

so I started at the University

of Texas in the summer.

- And even if time

ain't really on my side

It's one of those days

for taking a walk outside

- We went to class that

morning,

and then during

the lunch break

I went over to play chess

with James Love.

- And fall on my face

On somebody's

new mowed lawn

- James and I had graduated

from Austin High together

in May.

And I went over to where

he lived at the STAG Co-Op.

- Since I woke up today

It's starring me

and my sweet dream

- We were listening

to the Top 40

and playing chess

in his room.

[record scratches]

- We interrupt this program

to bring you

a special bulletin

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.

[upbeat rock music]

- Things may go

and things may stay

- We were just walking down

the middle of a road

and a guy waved at us.

"Get out," you know?

"Get under cover."

[gunshot]

"Get out of the street."

[gunshot]

And that

was the first sign we had

that things

were "bad" wrong.

[faint gunshots]

By the time that James and I

had walked onto campus...

I'm sure over a dozen people

had been murdered...

and we didn't know it.

- This is a KLRN

news bulletin.

A sniper

with a high-powered rifle

is firing at persons

within his range.

All Austin-area residents

are warned

to stay away from

the University of Texas area.

- It's an unbelievable sight.

The serene

University of Texas campus,

a temperature approaching

100 degrees now,

and a madman located on top

of the University Tower

firing and shooting at any

movable target that he can see.

- The shot that hit me

bypassed me

and ricocheted

off the building.

Everybody was

in a state of panic.

- Then what happened?

- 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.

Apparently police are

returning the fire now.

- I got lucky, considering

what happened to other people.

- There's no report

as to who this man may be,

or what he's doing up there,

or what prompted

this apparent madness.

- We passed the steps

to the Undergraduate Library.

As we were about

to the corner, he shot.

[gunshots]

And I laid there

for about...

Oh, probably 15 or 20 minutes.

- We didn't know

who was being killed.

Students on campus

were being shot.

People were dying.

[gunshots]

- It was just chaos.

- I was looking

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.

- We can see the movement

under the clock

on the south side of

the University of Texas Tower,

and police are returning

the fire.

- There's this guy

who's shooting

at everyone he can see.

What is the matter with him?

- The man is located

on the University Tower

observation deck.

Below the clock

which now shows 12:25

and is shooting.

He's shooting our direction.

- There was a lot

of suffering,

and we were helpless

to do anything about it.

[sirens wailing]

- I see all of this blood.

And I think...

"I didn't get a chance

to say good-bye

to my mom and dad,

or anything."

[soft piano music]

The ambulance driver

got a call.

Right around the corner,

there was another person

that they wanted him

to pick up.

Looking out that window,

it was just a direct shot.

And of course I'm thinking,

"If we don't

get out of here quick,

"I'm gonna get shot again."

- He knocked a boy

off a bicycle.

He shot windows

out of the Texas Union.

[gunshots]

More ambulances

are screaming

up and down

the University drag,

and the ambulances

are apparently carrying

those persons

who we had reported

as lying on the sidewalk

shot in front

of the Varsity Theater

and other buildings along

the University drag.

The University area

has been cordoned off

and so far we've had reports

of people being shuttled

to the hospital via ambulances

from practically all

the funeral homes in the city.

- I didn't know at the time,

but I was losing

a lot of blood.

I felt like I was melting.

[panting]

The heat was just deadly.

The pavement was so hot

that it was burning

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.

I took the rifle first.

But, see,

I've never shot a scope.

I was raised a poor boy,

and .22 the biggest thing

I ever shot.

I was shaking.

And what it was is...

Well, it wasn't

a nervous shake...

It was the wobble.

Yeah, the wobble.

I just couldn't get

the crosshairs

to center in on nothin'.

That boy said he could

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

and I saw Billy get 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, he was--

He opened fire on us

when he saw the,

uh, policeman

with a shotgun converging.

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