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

The Source of the Shots

The Commission examined and rejected speculations that some or all shots aimed at President Kennedy and Governor Connally came from the railroad overpass or from somewhere other than the Texas School Book Depository Building, including theories that shots came from both locations. Specific findings include: shots came from behind and above, with no evidence of shots fired from elsewhere than the Depository; the overpass was guarded by two Dallas policemen on November 22; no witnesses saw shots fired from the overpass—15 witnesses (2 policemen and 13 railroad employees) affirmed no shots came from there; no cartridge was recovered from the overpass; Mrs. Jean L. Hill’s recollection of seeing a man running west was uncorroborated; no witness supports the claim of a motorcycle officer pursuing a couple from the overpass; the weight of evidence indicates three shots were fired; metal remains indicate at least two shots; no bullet was found on President Kennedy’s stretcher (though an almost whole bullet was found on Governor Connally’s); Deputy Sheriff Walthers denied finding a bullet; the Presidential car did not stop after the first shot; the windshield was not penetrated by any bullet; the throat wound was an exit wound, not an entry wound from the front; Parkland doctors did not turn the President over and were unaware of the neck wound until later; and motion pictures demonstrate all shots striking the President came from the rear after the car turned onto Elm Street.

The Assassin

The Commission addressed numerous speculations supporting the theory that Oswald could not have assassinated President Kennedy. Findings include: Oswald could have known the motorcade route because it was published in Dallas papers on November 19, at least 72 hours before he reported for work; the published route clearly showed the motorcade turning from Main onto Houston and then left onto Elm, with no mention of continuing on Main through the Triple Underpass; the route was decided on November 18 and not changed thereafter; the only permissible route from Main to the Stemmons Freeway was via Houston and Elm Streets, as a direct route from Main would have required an extremely difficult S-turn; Oswald likely did not carry curtain rods—the room had curtains and rods already, and no curtain rods were found in the empty package recovered near the window; Oswald did not spend the morning with other workers and was last seen on the sixth floor around 11:55 a.m. by Charles Givens; the chicken lunch remains on the sixth floor were eaten by Bonnie Ray Williams, not an accomplice; the chicken lunch was not 2 days old but left shortly after noon on November 22 by Williams; the 8-millimeter photograph shadow in the southeast corner window was from cartons, not silhouettes; the man on the front steps thought to be Oswald was actually Billy Lovelady; the post office box listing of “A. Hidell” cannot be verified because the relevant portion of the application was discarded, and “Hidell” was merely Oswald’s alias; the Presidential car was traveling at approximately 11.2 miles per hour—a favorable target; and expert tests demonstrated Oswald could fire three shots from the Mannlicher-Carcano within 5½ seconds.