Incident Summary:
10/16/1991: At 12:39 pm, an assailant identified as George "JoJo" Hennard crashed his pickup truck through a window at Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, United States. Armed with two 9mm handguns, he proceeded to walk through the crowded restaurant, shooting patrons and employees. Over the course of 12 minutes, Hennard killed 23 people and wounded 27 others. He was shot and injured by police officers before dying by suicide. Hennard's statements during the attack and writings prior to the attack indicated that it was motivated by a sense of misogynistic vengeance.
Overview
GTD ID:
199110160024
When:
1991-10-16
Country:
United States
Region:
North America
Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:
Texas
City:
Killeen
What
Attack Information
| Type of Attack () |
Armed Assault |
| Successful Attack? () |
Yes |
Target Information ()
| Target Type: Business |
|---|
| Name of Entity |
Luby's Cafeteria |
| Specific Description |
Restaurant patrons and employees |
| Nationality of Target |
United States |
Additional Information
| Hostages |
No |
| Ransom |
No |
| Property Damage |
Yes |
| Extent of Property Damage |
Minor (likely < $1 million) |
| Value of Property Damage |
Unknown |
How
Weapon Information
| Type |
Sub-type |
| Firearms |
Handgun |
| Vehicle (not to include vehicle-borne explosives, i.e., car or truck bombs) |
|
| Weapon Details |
|---|
| Blue 1987 Ford Ranger pickup; 80 rounds from two 9mm handguns, a Glock 17 and a Ruger P89 |
Additional Information
| Suicide Attack? | Yes |
| Part of Multiple Incident? | No |
| Criterion 1 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 2 () |
Yes |
| Criterion 3 () |
Yes |
Who
Perpetrator Group Information
| Group Name |
Claimed Responsibility |
| Male supremacists |
Yes (Confirmed: Unknown; Mode: Personal claim) |
Perpetrator Statistics
| Number of Perpetrators |
1 |
| Number of Captured Perpetrators |
1 |
Casualty Information
| Total Number of Casualties |
24 Fatalities / 27 Injured |
| Total Number of Fatalities |
24 |
| Number of U.S. Fatalities |
24 |
| Number of Perpetrator Fatalities |
1 |
| Total Number of Injured |
27 |
| Number of U.S. Injured |
27 |
| Number of Perpetrators Injured |
0 |
Sources
Sources
| Hicks, Tyler, "A Gunman Killed 23 People at a Luby's in Killeen 30 Years Ago. It Changed Texas Forever," Dallas Observer, January 11, 2022. |
| Jankowski, Philip, "Survivors reflect on Oct. 16, 1991, Luby's shooting," October 16, 2011, Killeen Daily Herald. |
| "Shooting rampage at Killeen Luby's left 24 dead," Houston Chronicle, August 11, 2001. |
Criteria
Criteria 1
The act must be aimed at attaining a political, economic, religious, or social goal. In terms of economic goals, the exclusive pursuit of profit does not satisfy this criterion. It must involve the pursuit of more profound, systemic economic change.
Criterion 2
There must be evidence of an intention to coerce, intimidate, or convey some other message to a larger audience (or audiences) than the immediate victims. It is the act taken as a totality that is considered, irrespective if every individual involved in carrying out the act was aware of this intention. As long as any of the planners or decision-makers behind the attack intended to coerce, intimidate or publicize, the intentionality criterion is met.
Criterion 3
The action must be outside the context of legitimate warfare activities. That is, the act must be outside the parameters permitted by international humanitarian law (particularly the prohibition against deliberately targeting civilians or non-combatants.
Doubt Terrorism Proper
The existence of a "Yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper?" records reservation, in the eyes of GTD analysts, that the incident in question is truly terrorism. Such uncertainty, however, was not deemed to be sufficient to disqualify the incident from inclusion into the GTD. Furthermore, such a determination of doubt is subsequently coded by GTD analysts as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Alternate Designation
The determination of "yes" for "Doubt Terrorism Proper" by GTD analysts is coded as conforming to one of four possible alternative designations: 1) Insurgency/Guerilla Action; 2) Internecine Conflict Action; 3) Mass Murder; or 4) Purely Criminal Act.
Successful Attack
Success of a terrorist strike is defined according to the tangible effects of the attack. For example, in a typical successful bombing, the bomb detonates and destroys property and/or kills individuals, whereas an unsuccessful bombing is one in which the bomb is discovered and defused or detonates early and kills the perpetrators. Success is not judged in terms of the larger goals of the perpetrators. For example, a bomb that exploded in a building would be counted as a success even if it did not, for example, succeed in bringing the building down or inducing government repression.
Type of Attack
This field captures the general method of attack and often reflects the broad class of tactics used. It consists of the following nine categories:
- Assassination
- Armed Assault
- Unarmed Assault
- Bombing/Explosion
- Hijacking
- Hostage taking (Barricade Incident)
- Hostage taking (Kidnapping)
- Facility / Infrastructure Attack
- Unknown
Target Information
This field captures the general type of target. It consists of the following 22 categories:
- Abortion Related
- Airports & Airlines
- Business
- Government (General)
- Government (Diplomatic)
- Educational Institution
- Food or Water Supply
- Journalists & Media
- Maritime (includes Ports and Maritime facilities)
- Military
- NGO
- Other
- Police
- Private Citizens & Property
- Religious Figures/Institutions
- Telecommunication
- Terrorists
- Tourists
- Transportation (other than aviation)
- Unknown
- Utilities
- Violent Political Parties
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