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Where'd They Get Their Guns?

An Analysis of the Firearms Used in High-Profile Shootings, 1963 to 2001

Date: October 16, 1991

Location: Luby's Cafeteria, Killeen, Texas

Alleged Shooter: George Hennard

People Killed: 24 (shooter committed suicide)

People Injured: 20

Firearm(s): Ruger P-89 9mm pistol and a Glock 9mm pistol


Circumstances

Hennard, who had a history of mental instability and was described by friends and family as paranoid and troubled, drove his pickup truck through the window of a Luby's Cafeteria restaurant and opened fire, killing 23 people and wounding 20 others, then killed himself.


How Firearm(s) Acquired

Both guns were purchased legally from Mike's Gun Shop in February and March of 1991 in Henderson, Nevada. Although he had a history of mental illness, Hennard was never committed by court order to a mental health institution. Federal law prohibits firearms purchases only by people who have been committed to a mental health facility under court order.

 
  1. Mark Wrolstad, "Mass Killer Led Life of Contradictions," The Gazette (Montreal), 30 November 1991, sec. H, p. 9.
  2. "Luby's Chain Closes Cafeteria in Killeen Where 23 Were Killed," Austin American-Statesman, 9 September 2000, sec. B, p. 4.


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 All contents � 2001 Violence Policy Center

 


The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.