Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. KennedyUnited States. Warren Commission
History
Report of the President's Commission on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
On the other hand, a substantial majority of the witnesses stated that
the shots were not evenly spaced. Most witnesses recalled that the
second and third shots were bunched together, although some believed
that it was the first and second which were bunched.[C3-348] To the
extent that reliance can be placed on recollection of witnesses as to
the spacing of the shots, the testimony that the shots were not evenly
spaced would militate against a second shot missing. Another factor
arguing against the second shot missing is that the gunman would have
been shooting at very near the minimum allowable time to have fired
the three shots within 4.8 to 5.6 seconds, although it was entirely
possible for him to have done so. (See ch. IV, pp. 188-194.)
The Third Shot
The last possibility, of course, is that it was the third shot which
missed. This conclusion conforms most easily with the probability
that the assassin would most likely have missed the farthest shot,
particularly since there was an acceleration of the automobile after
the shot which struck the President’s head. The limousine also changed
direction by following the curve to the right, whereas previously it
had been proceeding in almost a straight line with a rifle protruding
from the sixth-floor window of the Depository Building.
One must consider, however, the testimony of the witnesses who
described the head shot as the concluding event in the assassination
sequence. Illustrative is the testimony of Associated Press
photographer Altgens, who had an excellent vantage point near the
President’s car. He recalled that the shot which hit the President’s
head “was the last shot--that much I will say with a great degree
of certainty.”[C3-349] On the other hand, Emmett J. Hudson, the
groundskeeper of Dealey Plaza, testified that from his position on
Elm Street, midway between Houston Street and the Triple Underpass,
he heard a third shot after the shot which hit the President in the
head.[C3-350] In addition, Mrs. Kennedy’s testimony indicated that
neither the first nor the second shot missed. Immediately after the
first noise she turned, because of the Governor’s yell, and saw her
husband raise his hand to his forehead. Then the second shot struck the
President’s head.[C3-351]
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