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

第一章

This chapter details the sequence of events following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the murder of Officer J.D. Tippit, including the flight and arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, the discovery of the sniper’s nest and murder weapon at the Texas School Book Depository, and a comprehensive account of Oswald’s early life, personal history, and ideological development leading up to the November 22, 1963 attacks.

Escape from the Tippit Shooting Scene

After shooting Officer Tippit, the gunman fled the scene on foot, heading south on Patton Avenue from the 10th Street and Patton intersection. Multiple civilian witnesses—including Helen Markham, Barbara Jeanette Davis, Virginia Davis, taxicab driver William W. Scoggins, and used car salesman Ted Callaway—observed his flight. He discarded his jacket in a gas station parking lot before continuing west on Jefferson Boulevard toward the Texas Theatre.

Arrest at the Texas Theatre

The suspect entered the Texas Theatre on West Jefferson without purchasing a ticket, an act observed by shoe store manager Johnny Calvin Brewer, who alerted theater cashier Julia Postal. Postal called police, and shortly after 1:45 p.m., officers surrounded the theater, identified the suspect, and after a brief struggle in which the suspect drew a concealed weapon, disarmed and arrested him. He was transported to police headquarters by approximately 2 p.m.

Search of the Texas School Book Depository

Following reports that the presidential shots were fired from the Texas School Book Depository, Dallas Police officers responded to the building. Inspector J. Herbert Sawyer arrived shortly after 12:34 p.m., conducted an initial search of the lower floors, and ordered no one be permitted to leave the building between 12:37 and 12:40 p.m. Capt. J. Will Fritz arrived shortly before 1 p.m. to take charge of the investigation.