Lee Harvey Oswald

Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) assassinated U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, according to the conclusions of two government investigations into the assassination. The 1964 Warren Commission concluded Oswald acted alone; the House Select Committee on Assassinations, during the late 1970s, concluded that while Oswald was the shooter, President Kennedy "most likely was assassinated as the result of a conspiracy". Some critics of the official accounts have claimed that Oswald was not involved at all and was framed, and many conspiracy theories have been developed, but no single compelling alternative suspect has emerged.

Oswald's flight and the murder of Officer J. D. Tippit

Immediately after the shooting, Oswald headed for the Depository's rear staircase, disposing of the rifle behind some boxes in the storage room. On the second floor, he encountered Dallas police officer Marion Baker, who had driven his motorcycle to the door of the Depository and sprinted up the stairs to search for the shooter. With him was Oswald's supervisor, Roy Truly, who had identified Oswald as an employee, so Baker let Oswald pass. Oswald bought a Coke from a vending machine in the second floor lunchroom, crossed the floor to the front staircase, then descended and left the building through the front entrance on Elm Street.

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At about 12:40 pm (CST), Oswald boarded a city bus by pounding on the door in the middle of the block, but when traffic slowed the bus to a halt, he requested a bus transfer from the driver. He took a taxicab to a point a few blocks away from his rooming house at 1026 N. Beckley St. then walked there to retrieve his revolver and beige jacket at about 1:00 pm. Moments later, Oswald left the house. He lingered briefly at a bus stop across the street then began walking. His ultimate destination is unknown, but before he was stopped, he had walked almost a mile (1.6 km) and was only four blocks away from a 1:40 pm city bus which could have connected him with a Greyhound headed south for Mexico.

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Officer J. D. Tippit had undoubtedly heard the general description of the alleged shooter, based on the statement of witness Howard Brennan, who had seen Oswald in the window of the Depository from across the street, had given to police and was broadcast over the police radio at 12:45 pm. Thirty minutes later, Tippit spotted a man fitting Oswald's description standing near the corner of Patton Avenue and 10th Street and pulled up next to him to talk to him through his patrol car window. Tippit then got out of his car and Oswald suddenly pulled his .38 revolver and shot Tippit six times, killing him instantly in view of several witnesses. Oswald reloaded the revolver, leaving the empty shell casings on the street and his jacket in the parking lot of a nearby service station. Thirteen people either witnessed the shooting or had identified Oswald fleeing the scene.

Related Topics:
J. D. Tippit - Howard Brennan

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Oswald, after leaving his jacket at the service station, then ducked into the entrance way of a nearby shoe store on Jefferson Street to avoid some passing police cars and then sneaked into the nearby Texas Theater without paying. The shoe store's manager followed him and alerted the theater's ticket clerk, who phoned police. The police quickly arrived and poured into the theater, which was showing the film War Is Hell starring Audie Murphy. Officer M.N. McDonald saw Oswald sitting near the rear of the theater and ordered him to stand. Oswald punched McDonald and drew his revolver, but McDonald tackled Oswald before he could fire. Police arrested him at 1:50 pm and took him into custody, past an angry crowd who had gathered outside the theater and shouted for Oswald's death.

Related Topics:
Texas Theater - War Is Hell - Audie Murphy

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Oswald was booked on suspicion first as a suspect in the shooting of Officer Tippit and shortly afterward on suspicion of assassinating Kennedy. However, the arraignment hearing on the Kennedy shooting charge was interrupted, so he was never officially charged with the assassination of President Kennedy. Oswald's elder brother Robert visited Lee in jail and asked him quizzically, "Lee, what in the Sam Hill is going on?" Lee replied coldly with a straight face, "I don't know." Robert responded, "Look, the police have your pistol, they have your rifle and you've been charged with the shooting of the President and a police officer and you tell me you don't know?"

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While in custody, Oswald had an impromptu brush with reporters and photographers in the hallway of the police station, an up-close-and-personal situation which almost certainly would not be allowed to happen nowadays. A reporter asked him, "Did you shoot the President?" His answer was, "I have not been accused of that; in fact, I didn't even know about it until you asked me that question." Later, Oswald overtly denied the crime, telling reporters "I didn't shoot anyone" and "I'm just a patsy".

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