John F. Kennedy assassination

The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, USA at 12:30 PM Central Standard Time (18:30 UTC). Kennedy was fatally wounded by gunshots while riding in a presidential motorcade within Dealey Plaza. He was the fourth U.S. President to be assassinated, and the eighth to die while in office.

Official investigations

Dallas Police

After arresting Oswald and collecting physical evidence at the crime scenes, at 10:30 PM CST 22 November (04:30 UTC 23 November) Dallas Police Chief Jesse Curry was ordered by, in his words, "people in Washington" to send all of the physical evidence found, but not Oswald, to FBI headquarters.

Related Topics:
22 November - UTC - 23 November - FBI

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FBI investigation

The FBI was the first authority to complete an official investigation. On December 9, 1963, only 17 days after the assassination, the FBI report was issued and given to the Warren Commission while the FBI was still the primary investigating authority for the commission. The FBI stated that only three bullets were fired during the assassination; that the first shot hit President Kennedy, the second shot hit Governor Connally, and the third shot hit Kennedy in the head, killing him. The FBI stated that Lee Harvey Oswald fired all three shots.

Related Topics:
FBI - December 9 - 1963 - Lee Harvey Oswald

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The Warren Commission

The first official investigation of the assassination was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson on November 29 1963, a week after the assassination. The commission was headed by Earl Warren, Chief Justice of the United States and became universally (but unofficially) known as the Warren Commission.

Related Topics:
Lyndon B. Johnson - November 29 - 1963 - Earl Warren - Chief Justice of the United States - Warren Commission

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In late September 1964, after a 10 month investigation, the Warren Commission Report was published. The Commission reported that it could not find any persuasive evidence of a domestic or foreign conspiracy involving any other person(s), group(s), or country(ies), and that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. The theory that Oswald acted alone is also informally called the Lone Gunman Theory.

Related Topics:
1964 - Lee Harvey Oswald - Lone Gunman Theory

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The commission also concluded that only three shots were fired during the assassination, and that Lee Harvey Oswald fired all three of these shots from the Texas School Book Depository building behind the motorcade. The commission's determination was that:

Related Topics:
Lee Harvey Oswald - Texas School Book Depository

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• one shot likely missed the motorcade (it could not determine which of the three),
• the first shot to hit anyone struck Kennedy in the upper back, exited near the front of his neck and likely continued on to cause all of Governor Connally's numerous injuries, and
• the last shot to hit anyone struck Kennedy in the head, fatally wounding him.

It noted that three empty shells were found in the sixth floor in the book depository, and a rifle identified as the one used in the shooting - Oswald's Italian military surplus 6.5x52 mm Model 91/38 Carcano - was found hidden nearby along with three spent cartridge cases. The Commission offered as a likely explanation that the same bullet that wounded Kennedy also caused all of Governor Connally's wounds. This theory has become known as the "Single Bullet Theory" or the "magic bullet theory" as it is commonly referred to by its critics and detractors.

Related Topics:
Model 91/38 Carcano - Single Bullet Theory

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The Commission also criticized weaknesses in security, which has resulted in greatly increased security whenever the President travels. The supporting documents for the Warren Commission Report are not all due to be released until 2017.

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The commission's findings have not gained general acceptance from the general public in the USA, and many theories exist that conflict with its findings. Most polls show that (1) most people do not agree with the Warren Commission's finding that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, and (2) no single alternative suspect or theory is accepted either.

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The House Select Committee on Assassinations

An official investigation by the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), conducted from 1976 to 1979, concluded

Related Topics:
House Select Committee on Assassinations - 1976 - 1979

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:that the scientific acoustical evidence established a high probability that two gunmen fired at President John F. Kennedy. Other scientific evidence did not preclude the possibility of two gunmen firing at the President, but it did negate some specific conspiracy allegations.

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Their conclusion was that four shots had been fired during the assassination and that President Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. The HSCA concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald fired the first, second, and fourth bullets, and that (based on the acoustic evidence) there was a high probability that an unnamed second assassin fired the third bullet (but missed) from President Kennedy's right front from a location concealed behind the Grassy Knoll picket fence, nine feet (approximately 3 meters) to the west of the picket fence east corner (exactly where an image is seen in the Moorman #5 polaroid photo captured at Zf-315 to 316, but not seen seconds later). The HSCA's test firings within Dealey Plaza in 1978 also acoustically matched this same Grassy Knoll fence location nine feet (3m) to the west of the picket fence east corner where several witnesses claimed to observe small puffs of gunpowder smoke.

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