Ron Oliveira

10-Year-Old Kid, Brownsville, TX

00:00 / 10:20
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Ron Oliveira was 10 years old at the time of the UT Tower shooting. He was vacationing at his uncle’s home in Brownsville on August 1, 1966. That uncle, Arnulfo Oliveira, was in Austin pursuing a doctorate degree.

It was at his uncle’s house that 10-year-old Oliveira saw the shooting. He remembers watching live coverage of the shooting on TV. He says his aunt turned on the TV and screamed, “Uncle Nuco is there!” – That was Arnulfo’s nickname.

“We had heard of war – but had never see something like this,” Oliveira says.

Oliveira went on to attend the University of Texas at Austin. He graduated in 1976.

Later, as a TV anchor working in Austin, Oliveira produced a documentary that told the story of police who made their way through tunnels to the Tower in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the shooting. Oliveira says he was the first journalist given access to the tower’s tunnels.

Oliveira had a 36-year career in TV News.