Luby's massacre
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On October 16, 1991 in Killeen, Texas, a man named George Hennard drove his 1987 Ford Ranger truck into a Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen Texas, yelled "This is what Bell County has done to me!" then opened fire on the restaurant's patrons and staff with a Glock 17 and later a Ruger P89. He killed 23 people and wounded 20 before he killed himself. Only the work of a large man breaking through a window allowed the rest of the patrons to escape. One noted exception was a mother and her 4-year-old child, who Hennard allowed to leave. Though Hennard was shot several times by police, only when he ran out of victims did Hennard walk to the rear of the seating area and take his own life with a gunshot to the head.
It should be noted that many of the patrons, such as Suzanna Hupp, had firearms in their vehicles but by law were not allowed to carry them on their person. Survivors and family of the victims, with the help of the media, were successful in moving lawmakers to consider the concept of conceal carry permits for citizens. As a direct result of this massacre, in 1995 Texas lawmakers, led by Suzanna Gratia Hupp (whose parents were both killed in the massacre), passed a law after the veto of former Governor Ann Richards that allowed Texas citizens to obtain a concealed carry handgun permit in part as a reaction against the massacre. Soon after, many states considered similar weapon permits for citizens.
[edit] Victims
The following people died as a result of the shooting
- Patricia Brawn Carney, 57, Belton, Texas
- Jimmie Eugene Caruthers, 48, Austin, Texas
- Kriemhild A. Davis, 62, Killeen, Texas
- Lt. Col. Steven Charles Dody, 43, Fort Hood, Texas
- Alphonse "Al" Gratia, Jr, 71, Copperas Cove, Texas
- Ursula Edith Marie Gratia, 67, Copperas Cove, Texas
- Debra Ann Gray, 33, Copperas Cove, Texas
- Dr. Michael Edward Griffith, 48, Copperas Cove, Texas
- Venice Ellen Henehan, 70, Metz, Missouri
- Clodine Delphia Humphrey, 63, Marlin, Texas
- Sylvia Mathilde King, 30, Killeen, Texas
- Zona Mae Lynn, 64, Marlin, Texas
- Connie Dean Peterson, 45, Austin, Texas
- Ruth Marie Pujol, 55, Killeen, Texas
- Su-zann Neal Rashott, 36, Copperas Cove, Texas
- John Raymond Romero Jr., 30, San Antonio, Texas
- Thomas Earl Simmons, 33, Copperas Cove, Texas
- Glen Arval Spivey, 55, Killeen, Texas
- Nancy Faye Stansbury, 44, Harker Heights, Texas
- Olgica Andonovsk Taylor, 45, Killeen, Texas
- James Walter Welsh, 75, Waco, Texas
- Lula Belle Welsh, 75, Waco, Texas
- Iva Juanita Williams, 64, Temple, Texas
[edit] External links
- Killeen Daily Herald "Luby's tragedy: 15 years later" (October 15, 2006)
- CNN.com "Luby's in Killeen, Texas, site of 1991 massacre, closes its doors" (September 11, 2000)
- San Antonio Express-News Guns in America, Part II, "Texas massacre, fear of crime spur concealed-gun laws"
