I was at Murchison on this fateful day.......
Murchison Junior High School, Austin, Texas
Thursday, May 18, 1978
George Christian, former press secretary to President Lyndon B. Johnson, had an honor student in his son John, 13, at the elite Austin junior high school. This morning, John arrived late to school, around 8:45 a.m. and walked into his eighth grade English teacher's classroom on the first floor with a .22-caliber rifle. He had gotten the rifle from his home. Wilbur (Rod) Grayson, Jr. was a first year teacher and only 29-years-old. Wilbur was sitting on a stool conducting class when John pointed the rifle at him. The students in the room, there were 30 of them, distinctly heard this phrase, "The joke is over." before John pulled the trigger three times. However, they were unsure if John or Wilbur spoke those words. Wilbur was struck in the right side of his head, chest and right arm. John fled the room and dropped the rifle at a bike rack. He was caught by athletic coach Larry Schirpiek, who held the boy against a fence until the police arrived. Wilbur was rushed to Brackenridge Hospital where he died. John was taken to the Gardner House, a juvenile home until everything could be sorted out.
Source: Austin American-Statesman - Teacher Shot Fatally in Classroom