Whitman visited UT's mental health center toward the end of March 1966. Dr. Maurice Dean Heatly was assigned to Whitman. According to A Sniper in the Tower, Dr. Heatly described his first impression of the former Marine as someone "who seemed to be oozing with hostility." Whitman shared his secret desire with Dr. Heatly that day "about going up on the Tower with a deer rifle and shooting people."