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

Rifle Among Oswald’s Possessions

Marina Oswald testified that the rifle found on the sixth floor was the “fateful rifle of Lee Oswald” and was the only rifle her husband owned after returning from the Soviet Union in June 1962. Purchased in March 1963, the rifle was taken to New Orleans, where Marina saw it in their rented apartment during the summer of 1963; she stated Oswald may have practiced with the telescopic sight and bolt on the screened porch. In September 1963, Oswald loaded his possessions into Ruth Paine’s station wagon for the move to Irving, Texas, and Marina stated the rifle was among them, though Ruth Paine testified she was unaware of it. From September 24 until the assassination, the rifle was stored in a green and brown blanket in the Paines’ garage. Marina saw the rifle stock when she opened the blanket looking for baby crib parts, and Michael Paine moved the blanket several times, believing it contained tent poles or camping equipment. About three hours after the assassination, a detective and deputy sheriff observed the tied blanket-roll on the garage floor and could detect the outline of a rifle, and FBI examiner Stombaugh found a bulge approximately 10 inches long that could have been caused by the rifle’s 11-inch telescopic sight.

Commission Conclusion on Rifle Ownership

The Commission concluded that the assassination rifle was owned and possessed by Lee Harvey Oswald based on five findings: (1) Oswald purchased the rifle, (2) Oswald’s palmprint on the rifle showed he had handled it while it was disassembled, (3) fibers on the rifle most probably came from the shirt Oswald wore on November 22, (4) a photograph at Oswald’s apartment showed him holding this rifle, and (5) the rifle was kept among Oswald’s possessions from purchase until the day of the assassination. The Commission concluded this weapon was used to assassinate President Kennedy and wound Governor Connally.