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

Expert Examination of Rifle, Cartridge Cases, and Bullet Fragments

The three spent cartridge cases found on the Depository’s sixth floor, the recovered 6.5mm Mannlicher-Carcano rifle, the nearly whole bullet from Governor Connally’s Parkland Hospital stretcher, and all bullet fragments from the Presidential limousine were subjected to firearms identification analysis by qualified experts. The unanimous expert conclusion was that the nearly whole bullet, the two largest bullet fragments, and the three cartridge cases were definitely fired from the C2766 Mannlicher-Carcano rifle found on the sixth floor, to the exclusion of all other weapons.

Discovery of Cartridge Cases and Rifle

Shortly after the assassination, Dallas police searched the Depository building. At approximately 1:12 p.m., Deputy Sheriff Luke Mooney found three empty cartridge cases on the sixth floor near the southeast corner window, and guarded the scene until police technicians arrived to photograph and process the evidence. At 1:22 p.m., Deputy Sheriff Eugene Boone and Deputy Constable Seymour Weitzman discovered the bolt-action rifle with telescopic sight between rows of boxes in the sixth floor northwest corner near the staircase. The scene was left undisturbed until Captain J.W. Fritz and Lieutenant J.C. Day arrived to photograph the weapon; after confirming no fingerprints were on the bolt knob and the stock was too rough for prints, Lieutenant Day picked up the rifle by the stock, had Captain Fritz open the bolt to eject a live round, and took the weapon to the police department for examination. Neither Boone nor Weitzman handled the rifle.