Luby's massacre
| Luby's Massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | Killeen, Texas, United States |
| Date | October 16, 1991 12:35 p.m. – 12:51 p.m. (UTC-5) |
| Target | Luby's |
| Attack type | Massacre, mass murder, murder-suicide |
| Weapon(s) | Glock 17, Ruger P89 |
| Deaths | 24 (including the perpetrator) |
| Injured (non-fatal) | 20 |
| Perpetrator | George Hennard |
The Luby's massacre was a mass murder that took place on October 16, 1991, in Killeen, Texas, United States when George Hennard[1] (born October 15, 1956) crashed his pickup truck through the front window of a Luby's cafeteria, shot 50 people (killing 23), exchanged shots with responding police, and then hid in a bathroom and fatally shot himself. It was the deadliest shooting rampage in American history until the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre.
Contents |
Killings [edit]
On October 16, 1991, 35-year-old George "Jo Jo" Pierre Hennard, an unemployed merchant mariner or able seaman who was described by others as angry and withdrawn, with a dislike of women, drove his blue 1987 Ford Ranger pickup truck through the front window of a Luby's cafeteria at 1705 East Central Texas Expressway in Killeen. Yelling "This is what Bell County did to me!", Hennard then opened fire on its patrons and staff with a Glock 17 pistol and, later, a Ruger P89. He stalked, shot, and killed 23 people while wounding another 20 before committing suicide. Approximately 140 people were in the restaurant at the time.
The first victim was local veterinarian Michael Griffith, 48, who ran to the driver's side of the pickup truck to offer assistance to the driver after the truck crashed through the window. Hennard also approached 32-year-old Suzanna Hupp and her parents. Hupp reached for her .38 revolver in her purse, only to realize she had left it in her vehicle. Her father Al, 71, rushed at Hennard in an attempt to subdue him but was fatally shot in the chest. A short time later, as Hupp was escaping, her mother Ursula, 67, was shot in the head and killed as she cradled her wounded husband.
During the massacre, Hennard allowed a woman and her four-year-old child to leave. Another patron, Tommy Vaughn, threw himself through a plate-glass window, sustaining injuries, but by doing so he created an escape route for himself and other customers.
Hennard reloaded several times and still had ammunition remaining when he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head after exchanging shots with, and being wounded by, a responding police officer.[2][3][4]
Victims [edit]
Fatalities from this shooting included:
| Name | Age | Hometown |
|---|---|---|
| Patricia Brawn Carney | 57 | Belton |
| Jimmie Eugene Caruthers | 48 | Austin |
| Kriemhild A. Davis | 62 | Killeen |
| Steven Charles Dody | 43 | Fort Hood |
| Alphonse "Al" Gratia, Jr. | 71 | Copperas Cove |
| Ursula Edith Marie Gratia | 67 | Copperas Cove |
| Debra Ann Gray | 33 | Copperas Cove |
| Michael Edward Griffith | 48 | Copperas Cove |
| Venice Ellen Henehan | 70 | Metz, Missouri |
| Clodine Delphia Humphrey | 63 | Marlin |
| Sylvia Mathilde King | 30 | Killeen |
| Zona Mae Lynn | 45 | Marlin |
| Connie Dean Peterson | 43 | Austin |
| Ruth Marie Pujol | 36 | Copperas Cove |
| Suzann Neal Rashott | 30 | San Antonio |
| John Raymond Romero, Jr. | 29 | Copperas Cove |
| Thomas Earl Simmons | 33 | Killeen |
| Glen Arval Spivey | 55 | Harker Heights |
| Nancy Faye Stansbury | 44 | Harker Heights |
| Olgica Andonovsk Taylor | 45 | Waco |
| James Walter Welsh | 75 | Waco |
| Lula Belle Welsh | 64 | Waco |
| Iva Juanita Williams | 64 | Temple |
Perpetrator [edit]
George Jo Hennard was born as Georges Pierre Hennard on October 15, 1956 in Sayre, Pennsylvania, the son of a surgeon and a homemaker. Upon graduating from high school in 1974, he enlisted in the U. S. Navy and served for two years until he was honorably discharged in 1976. He later enlisted in the Merchant Marines in 1977, however he was court martialed in 1981 after he was arrested for drug possession. His seaman's papers were suspended the following year for racist remarks on altercation, and were later revoked in 1989, after his second arrest for possessing marijuana.
He became a resident of Belton, Texas in February 1991, and was unemployed in the months leading to the massacre.[5]
Aftermath [edit]
In response to the massacre,[6] the Texas Legislature in 1995 passed a shall-issue gun law, which requires that all qualifying applicants be issued a Concealed Handgun License (the state's required permit to carry concealed weapons), removing the personal discretion of the issuing authority to deny such licenses. To qualify for a license, one must be free-and-clear of crimes, attend a minimum 10-hour class taught by a state-certified instructor, pass a 50-question test, show proficiency in a 50-round shooting test, and pass two background tests, one shallow and one deep. The license costs $140 for a four year license; in addition applicants must pay $10 for fingerprinting as well as instructor costs which vary.
The law had been campaigned for by Suzanna Hupp, who was present at the time of the massacre where both of her parents were shot and killed. She later expressed regret about deciding to leave her gun in her car lest she risk possibly running afoul of the state's concealed weapons laws; during the shootings, she reached for her weapon but then remembered that it was "a hundred feet away in my car."[7] She testified across the country in support of concealed handgun laws, and was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1996.[8] The law was signed by then-Governor George W. Bush.[9]
The present site [edit]
The location closed after the massacre and reopened after clean-up and redesign of its front wall were completed. It struggled throughout the following years and closed permanently on September 9, 2000.[10] A Chinese-American buffet, Yank Sing, now occupies the former location.[11]
See also [edit]
- List of massacres in the United States
- San Ysidro McDonald's massacre, a similar incident involving mass murder at a popular restaurant
- Edmond U.S. Post Office massacre
- GMAC massacre, a mass murder at a General Motors office that took place the year before the Luby's massacre
- Fort Hood shooting, another notorious spree shooting in Killeen, Texas
References [edit]
- ^ "A Texas Massacre". People Magazine (vol. 36, no. 17) (11/04/1991). 1991. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
- ^ Hayes, Thomas C (October 17, 1991). "Gunman Kills 22 and Himself in Texas Cafeteria". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-08-15.
- ^ KWTX, Luby’s Massacre Remains Among Nation’s Worst Mass Shootings
- ^ Kelly, Steve (1991-12-06). "Texas Chiropractor -- One of 24 Slain in Tragedy". Dynamic Chiropractic 09 (25). Retrieved 2006-12-02.
- ^ Police May Never Learn What Motivated Gunman, Los Angeles Times (October 18, 1991)
- ^ Douglas, Carlyle C (1991-10-20). "Dead: 23 Texans and 1 Anti-Gun Measure". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ^ Transcription of Suzanna Hupp's testimony in favor of Missouri's HB-1720 bill
- ^ "U.S. Department of Justice, National Advisory Committee on Violence Against Women, Biographical Information". justice.gov. 2006-06-19. Retrieved 2011-02-17.
- ^ Verhovek, Sam Howe (1995-03-06). "States Seek to Let Citizens Carry Concealed Weapons". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ^ Luby’s Massacre Remains Among Nation’s Worst Mass Shootings
- ^ http://www.kdhnews.com/news/story.aspx?s=12299
- San Antonio Express-News Guns in America, Part II, "Texas massacre, fear of crime spur concealed-gun laws"
- Hupp's comments to congress on surviving the massacre and losing her parents to Hennard.
- People A Texas Massacre
Coordinates: 31°05′37″N 97°43′26″W / 31.09361°N 97.72389°W
