case study: Charles Whitman Flashcards
what did Charles Whitman do?
killed his wife and mum
went to Texas uni, climbed the clock tower there and shot at people for over 2 hours
killed 14
wounded 31
what happened to Charles Whitman in Florida when he was a child?
saw his dad being violent and abusive
Charles was abused by his dad
he became interested in firearms
enlisted in the army
went to texas uni
what happened once Charles Whitman joined the army and left home?
got married
shortly after started feeling the need to abuse his wife
BUT
he reprimands himself for the thoughts
and started to leave notes around his house reminding himself t o not shout or become aggressive etc.
what started to happen after managing his violent thoughts?
became violent and started beating his wife
was asked to leave the army and dropped from uni after a public (violent) outburst(s)
after these events (dropped from uni and army) what happened to Charles Whitman?
had frequent headaches
frequent irrational thoughts
frequent violent thoughts
saw a psychologist who recognised that he was suffering and all self-worth was low.
he told the psychologist his plans but they got dismissed as a threat
left a suicide note
what happened once Charles Whitman got dismissed from the psychologist?
killed his mum then hi wife
so they wouldn’t be alone when hes dead
went to the clock tower and shot at anyone and everyone
requested an autopsy in his note
they then found a tumour on the amygdala.
