There, he brutally killed a receptionist with his rifle and targeted two families who unknowingly made their way to the observation deck, as he prepared to wreak havoc on the campus below.
The ex-Marine fired upon the people beneath him, striking a pregnant woman and her partner who attempted to assist her, numerous passersby, and a paramedic who arrived in an ambulance.
In total, the 25-year-old took the lives of 15 individuals and wounded 31 others before he was ultimately shot and killed by a police officer.
Before launching this horrific attack, Whitman had already taken the lives of two individuals close to him.
He left behind a note, stating: “It was after much thought that I decided to kill my wife, Kathy, tonight … I love her dearly, and she has been as fine a wife to me as any man could ever hope to have. I cannot rationally pinpoint any specific reason for doing this.”
He also wrote: “I don’t want her to have to face the embarrassment my actions would surely cause her. I truly do not consider this world worth living in, and am prepared to die, and I do not want to leave her to suffer alone in it… Similar reasons provoked me to take my mother’s life.”
Earlier that same morning, Whitman had already murdered both his wife and mother, acts that seemed to come out of nowhere, something he himself acknowledged.
An autopsy later revealed Whitman’s suspicion that something unusual was affecting his brain.
The coroner discovered a tumor, approximately the size of a pecan, pressing against his amygdala, the part of the brain that regulates emotions, particularly fear and aggression. This tumor could explain the aggressive behavior he had displayed.
The autopsy itself was something Whitman had requested.
Before the shooting, he wrote: “I don’t really understand myself these days. I am supposed to be an average reasonable and intelligent young man. However, lately (I can’t recall when it started) I have been a victim of many unusual and irrational thoughts.”
“After one session I never saw the Doctor again, and since then I have been fighting my mental turmoil alone, and seemingly to no avail,” he noted.
He further expressed: “After my death I wish that an autopsy would be performed on me to see if there is any visible physical disorder.”