Anniversary brings renewed attention to a downtown tragedy
Fifty years after a gunman perched atop the downtown Holiday Inn Plaza opened fire on pedestrians and motorists below, Wichita residents are being reminded of one of the city's earliest modern mass shootings. The Aug. 11, 1976, attack lasted about 11 minutes and left three men dead and several others wounded.
On that drizzly Wednesday afternoon, 19-year-old Michael Soles of Oklahoma carried two rifles and a lunch pail filled with ammunition to the 26th floor of the Holiday Inn Plaza — at the time the tallest building in Kansas — and fired randomly at people on the streets around Douglas and Main. Law enforcement officers eventually shot Soles in the legs, ended the siege and took him into custody.
"terror gripped downtown Wichita"
The attack marked one of the earliest instances in which a shooter used a high floor or rooftop to target people below, a method later seen in other notorious incidents. In Wichita, the victims included a loan officer, a freelance photographer and a glass-company employee, whose names and occupations were widely reported in the days following the shooting.
Victims and legal outcomes
Authorities identified the three men killed in the rampage as Mark Falen, a loan officer; Joe Goulart, a freelance photographer who had been covering the evolving scene; and Elmer Hensley, a glass-company employee. Multiple others were wounded during the 11-minute spree.
| Name | Occupation | Fate |
|---|---|---|
| Mark Falen | Loan officer | Killed |
| Joe Goulart | Freelance photographer | Killed |
| Elmer Hensley | Glass-company employee | Killed |
Soles was convicted on multiple counts of first-degree murder and remains incarcerated in Kansas. He is housed at the Winfield correctional facility and is listed as one of the state's longest-serving inmates. Over the decades, his parole and clemency requests have been denied.
Local context and legacy
The Holiday Inn Plaza shooting occupies a difficult place in Wichita's history. At the time, the city had not widely experienced the kind of rooftop sniper attack then seen in other parts of the country, including the 1966 University of Texas tower shooting and a 1973 hotel sniper attack in New Orleans. Those events helped shape law enforcement practices and public discussions about building access, mental health and firearms policy.
- Public safety: The attack prompted reviews of how officers respond to elevated shooters and highlighted the challenges of stopping gunmen firing from tall structures.
- Victim impact: Families of those killed and injured have carried the legacy of the event for decades; the community marked milestones and anniversaries with remembrances.
- Corrections: Soles' long incarceration and repeated denials of parole or clemency underscore the long-term legal consequences that followed the shooting.
The anniversary also comes at a time when cities nationwide continue to grapple with how to prevent and respond to mass shootings. While Friday's observance is largely retrospective — remembering victims and reviewing case facts — it also provides an opportunity for local officials, law enforcement and community groups to discuss prevention, preparedness and support for survivors and families.
How Wichita has changed since 1976
Downtown Wichita in 1976 looked different: the Holiday Inn Plaza was the city's tallest structure, and public perceptions of safety and law enforcement tactics were evolving. Since then, Wichita's skyline, emergency response systems and trauma-informed services have changed. Police training now incorporates lessons learned from past incidents across the nation, including tactics for neutralizing shooters at height and coordinated evacuation procedures.
For many Wichita residents, however, the human toll— the lives lost and those forever altered— remains central to how the city remembers the Aug. 11 attack. Half a century on, the names of the victims and the image of that rainy afternoon endure in local memory.
Correction note: This account is based on historical reporting and public records from the 1976 shooting and subsequent corrections records regarding the offender's incarceration status.
