Killeen's Other Massacre

« The Right And The Tinderbox | Main | Waving The Standard »

06 Nov 2009 12:22 pm

Killeen, Texas - where Fort Hood is located - was the victim of another mass shooting 18 years ago:

The Luby's massacre was an incident of mass murder that took place on October 16, 1991 when George Jo Hennard drove his pickup truck into a Luby's Cafeteria and shot and killed 23 people, wounded another 20 and then committed suicide by shooting himself. It was the deadliest shooting rampage in American history until the Virginia Tech Massacre.

On October 16, 1991, Hennard drove his 1987 Ford Ranger pickup truck through the front window of a Luby's Cafeteria at 1705 East Central Texas Expressway in Killeen, yelled "This is what Belton did to me!", then opened fire on the restaurant's patrons and staff with a Glock 17 pistol and later a Ruger P89. He stalked, shot, and killed 23 people and wounded another 20 before committing suicide. About 80 people were in the restaurant at the time.

The first victim was local veterinarian Dr. Michael Griffith, who ran up to the driver's side of the pickup truck to offer assistance after the truck came through the window. During the shooting, Hennard approached Suzanna Hupp and her parents. Hupp had brought a handgun to the Luby's Cafeteria that day but had left it in her vehicle because laws in force at the time forbade the carrying of firearms. According to her later testimony her father charged at Hennard in an attempt to subdue him but was gunned down; a short time later, Hupp's mother was also shot and killed.^[1]^[2]^[3] One patron, Tommy Vaughn, threw himself through a plate-glass window to allow others to escape.^[4] Hennard allowed a mother and her four-year-old child to leave. He reloaded several times and still had ammunition remaining when he committed suicide by shooting himself in the head after being cornered and wounded by police.^[5]^[6]^[7]