Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy

Oswald’s Jacket

Approximately 15 minutes before the shooting, Oswald was observed leaving his roominghouse wearing a zipper jacket he had not worn upon arriving home. At arrest he was in shirt sleeves, and shortly after the killing a light-colored zipper jacket was found along the escape route on Jefferson Boulevard by Captain Westbrook, who located it beneath a car in a parking lot behind a service station. Marina Oswald identified it as her husband’s second jacket (a gray jacket; the blue one was found at the Texas School Book Depository). Witnesses varied in their descriptions of the jacket’s shade, but the Commission’s finding was that Oswald discarded the jacket while fleeing.

Conclusion

The Commission concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald killed Patrolman J.D. Tippit, based on four findings: (1) two eyewitnesses to the shooting and seven eyewitnesses to the gunman’s flight positively identified Oswald; (2) cartridge cases from the scene were fired from the revolver in Oswald’s possession, to the exclusion of all other weapons; (3) the revolver belonged to Oswald; and (4) Oswald’s jacket was recovered along the gunman’s path of flight.

Oswald’s Arrest

The Texas Theatre sits approximately eight blocks from the Tippit shooting scene and six blocks from where Oswald was last seen running west on Jefferson. Johnny Calvin Brewer, manager of Hardy’s Shoestore near the theater, heard police sirens and observed a man standing in the recessed lobby of his store. After a police car made a U-turn and the sirens faded, the man—who wore a T-shirt beneath his outer shirt and no jacket—looked over his shoulder and walked west on Jefferson toward the theatre. Brewer described the man as having disheveled hair, appearing as though he had been running, looking scared.

chapter III.[C4-305] Euins, who was on the southwest corner of Elm and

This chapter documents the identification, arrest, and initial detention of Lee Harvey Oswald following the assassination of President Kennedy. It traces the sequence from Oswald’s entry into the Texas Theatre, through the police response and physical struggle during arrest, to witness testimony regarding the altercation, his transport to Dallas Police Headquarters, and the beginning of his interrogation during an approximately 12-hour detention in which he denied involvement in both the assassination and the murder of Patrolman J. D. Tippit.

Oswald Identified at Texas Theatre

Mrs. Julia Postal, selling tickets at the Texas Theatre box office, heard police sirens and saw a man duck into the outer lobby near her ticket office. She stepped to the curb where Johnny Brewer, who had followed the man from a nearby shoestore, told her the suspect had not purchased a ticket and had entered the theatre. After sending Brewer inside to locate the man and check the exits, Postal informed him of the assassination and called the police, noting that although she could not confirm his identity, the man was clearly fleeing from authorities. Brewer later pointed out Oswald to the arriving officers, identifying him as the man who had entered without paying.

Police Converge on Texas Theatre After Suspect Sighting

At 1:45 p.m., a police radio bulletin reported that a suspect had entered the Texas Theatre on West Jefferson. Patrol cars bearing at least 15 officers converged on the building. Patrolman M. N. McDonald, accompanied by Patrolmen R. Hawkins, T. A. Hutson, and C. T. Walker, entered through the rear, while other officers searched the balcony through the front door. Detective Paul L. Bentley instructed the projectionist to raise the house lights, allowing officers to systematically search the theatre and locate the suspect seated alone in the rear of the main floor near the right center aisle.

Oswald Resists Arrest, Draws Firearm at Texas Theatre

McDonald approached Oswald, stopping abruptly in his row and ordering him to stand. Oswald rose with both hands raised and, as McDonald began searching his waist for a weapon, remarked, “Well, it’s all over now.” Oswald then struck McDonald between the eyes with his left fist while drawing a revolver with his right hand. A physical struggle ensued, with both men falling into the seats before three additional officers seized Oswald from the front, rear, and side. During the scuffle, McDonald felt the pistol graze his cheek and heard what sounded like the hammer snapping as he wrenched the weapon away; Detective Bob K. Carroll then seized the gun from McDonald.