Collector auctions rifle purportedly used in 1966 Texas tower killings

DALLAS (Reuters) - A Dallas gun collector is selling what he said is a rifle used in the sniper attack by ex-Marine Charles Whitman, who perched himself atop the University of Texas clock tower in a 1966 shooting spree that killed 16 people and wounded dozens. Donald Weiss is advertising the Remington 700 as the "UT Austin Sniper Rifle" at a starting bid of $25,000 on behalf of an unidentified owner on the Texas Gun Trader website. The posting has been viewed over 4,300 times in the last week, according to the site. Law enforcement officials said they could not immediately verify the authenticity of the rifle. Weiss told Reuters that the rifle has exchanged hands a few times since it was originally purchased from the Whitman estate but declined to provide further details. The listing says documentation to identify the piece will be provided by the seller. (Reporting by Lisa Maria Garza; Editing by Jon Herskovitz and Jim Loney)