Flash. Bang. You're Dead

March, 2000

SWAT teams make dramatic TV but horrible justiceWhen University of Texas student Charles Whitman climbed the Texas Tower in 1966 and began shooting people, the Austin police were caught underarmed. Officials called in off-duty cops and asked for citizens to bring their deer rifles. TV footage showed puffs of concrete as cops' return fire chipped away at the sniper's position. Eventually, officers climbed the stairs to the observatory deck and patrolman Ramiro Martinez emptied his handgun into th...