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

第三章

This is Chapter III of the Warren Commission report, focused on verifying the trajectory of the shots fired at President John F. Kennedy and Governor John Connally during the 1963 assassination. Initial cumulative evidence from eyewitnesses, ballistics experts, and medical authorities indicated the shots originated from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building; the Commission launched supplementary investigation including analysis of motion picture footage of the event and onsite reenactment tests to confirm all findings aligned with this conclusion and to establish precise details of the limousine’s position, shot timing, and bullet paths.

THE TRAJECTORY

The cumulative body of evidence from eyewitnesses, firearms and ballistic experts, and medical authorities confirmed that the shots which struck President Kennedy and Governor Connally were fired from above and behind the two men, specifically from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building. To validate this conclusion and map precise details of the event, the Commission requested additional investigation including analysis of motion picture footage of the assassination and onsite reenactment tests. Findings from FBI and Secret Service investigations confirmed the Commission’s initial determinations about the source and trajectory of the shots, and also enabled approximations of the Presidential limousine’s location at the time each shot was fired and the time intervals between shots.

Films and Tests

Motion picture footage captured by spectators Abraham Zapruder, Orville O. Nix, and Mary Muchmore provided critical context for the assassination sequence, with the Zapruder film serving as the most complete record of the event. FBI examination of the Zapruder camera confirmed it captured 18.3 frames per second, allowing researchers to calculate timing of events by assigning 1/18.3 seconds to the action between each consecutive frame. The footage and individual frame slides were reviewed by Governor and Mrs. Connally, the Governor’s medical team, autopsy surgeons, and Army wound ballistics scientists to map the precise sequence of events. Testing of the assassin’s Mannlicher-Carcano rifle determined a minimum of 2.3 seconds was required between successive shots. On May 24, 1964, the FBI and Secret Service conducted a full reenactment of the assassination: since the Presidential limousine was unavailable for remodeling, the Secret Service follow-up car (a similar vehicle) was used as a substitute, with agents of matching physical build seated in the same relative positions as Kennedy and Connally. The sixth-floor sniper’s nest was replicated using the recovered assassination rifle, which was mounted with a camera to record the view from the assassin’s position, and the original spectator camera positions were used to capture comparative footage of the reenactment. Agents confirmed the oak tree foliage along the motorcade route matched conditions on the day of the assassination.