第三章
Chapter III of the Warren Commission Report analyzes the evidence and presents its conclusions regarding the source, number, effect, and timing of the shots that killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor Connally. The Commission evaluated seven categories of evidence: (1) eyewitness testimony at the scene; (2) damage to the Presidential limousine; (3) expert examination of the rifle, cartridge cases, and bullet fragments; (4) the wounds suffered by both men; (5) wound ballistics tests; (6) examination of the clothing worn by the President and Governor; and (7) motion-picture films and still photographs taken during the assassination. The chapter presents testimony from multiple eyewitnesses and Depository employees who identified the sixth-floor southeast corner window of the Texas School Book Depository as the source of the shots.
The Shots From the Texas School Book Depository
The Shots From the Texas School Book Depository section introduces the chapter’s purpose, explaining that the Commission will analyze evidence and set forth its conclusions concerning the source, effect, number, and timing of the shots that killed President Kennedy and wounded Governor Connally. The Commission evaluated seven distinct categories of evidence, including eyewitness testimony, limousine damage, expert examinations of the rifle and bullet fragments, wound analysis, ballistics tests, clothing examination, and photographic evidence.
THE WITNESSES
The Witnesses section establishes that passengers in the lead motorcade cars generally believed the shots came from the rear and right—toward the Texas School Book Depository—though none saw anyone fire. Several spectators at Houston and Elm Streets, however, did see a rifle being fired from the easternmost sixth-floor window on the building’s south side, and others saw a rifle in that window immediately afterward. Three Depository employees on the fifth floor heard the shots fired from the floor directly above them. The Commission found no credible evidence suggesting the shots came from the railroad bridge over the Triple Underpass, the railroad yards, or any other location besides the Depository. A photograph (Commission Exhibit No. 477) shows Howard L. Brennan’s position on November 22, 1963.
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