there are numerous instances throughout history (specifically in the late 20th century) where suspects have sought out and killed as many innocent victims as possible before either being stopped by law enforcement or taking their own lives. these mass murderers (also referred to as active shooter since the columbine high school tragedy in April 1999) have presented a unique tactical challenge to law enforcement officers.
In many ways, law enforcement tactics for addressing these active shooters have come full circle. how did this happen?
on August 1, 1966, Charles whitman killed his mother and wife before scaling the university of texas tower in austin, texas, and shooting 45 people, killing 22 of them. whitman held the city of Austin hostage for over 90 minutes while police offices scrambled to find a way to stop the rampage. Special weapons and tactics (SWAT) teams had not yet been created so patrol officers responded to any critical situations requiring a tactical response.
on this day in 1966, Austin police officers Ramiro "ray" Marinez and houston McCoy, patrol officers with little or no tactical training, took it upon themselves to fight their way to the UT tower to put a stop to Whitman's rampage. there two patrol officers moved up the tower, cleared the barricades Whitman had placed at the doorway to the observation deck, worked their way around the observation deck until they encountered Whitman and finally shot and killed him as he continued to fire on innocent victims below.