Warren Commission (07 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)United States. Warren Commission
History
Warren Commission (07 of 26): Hearings Vol. VII (of 15)
United States. Warren Commission
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 -- Assassination; Oswald, Lee Harvey
Mr. OWENS. It says here on channel 1, this is Sawyer Deposition Exhibit
B, "Attention all squads in the downtown area, code 3, to Elm and
Houston with caution," and knowing that the President's parade was
going to be down in that area and also at 12:44 this: "attention all
squads, the suspect in the shooting, Elm and Houston, is reported to be
an unknown white male, approximately 30, slender build, height, 5 feet
6 inches, weight, 165 pounds, reported to be armed with what is thought
to be a .30 caliber rifle, no further description or information at
this time;" and then it recites at 12:45 signal 19 involving the
President--that was at 12:45----
Mr. ELY. And signal 19 means what?
Mr. OWENS. A shooting--anything of that magnitude in the shooting of
the President is one of the greatest magnitudes, and any officer would
proceed as near that location as possible to try to apprehend whoever
had done it.
Mr. ELY. Well, would somebody in an outlying district head for Elm and
Houston itself, or would he just come in closer?
Mr. OWENS. He would move in that direction, and when they had ordered
all downtown squads to proceed to Elm and Houston, knowing that he
was going to have to answer calls in the downtown area while they are
there, and if you know that in all probability you may get called in,
and--instead of the district you are in, you are going to head down
there so it won't take you near as long, and also you can still be in
the area if the suspect comes your way, you will have a better chance
of apprehending him.
Mr. ELY. So, you think Tippit might have been filling in for the people
whom he knew had been pulled in to Elm and Houston?
Mr. OWENS. That's what I think--not only filling in, but also looking
for the suspect, because he heard about the shooting and the general
description of the suspect, and not knowing which way he went, but he
could have gone any way, then he is going to head downtown as soon
as possible so if he sees someone answering that description, he can
apprehend him.
Mr. ELY. You would say it would be normal procedure for an officer in
district 78, which is located out in the outlying districts, to head
downtown in any emergency?
Mr. OWENS. That's true.
Mr. ELY. Could you perhaps give us an explanation of why he headed over
toward 109 and 91? That doesn't seem to be the most direct route.
Mr. OWENS. According to this map--it doesn't show all the things on
there--it looks like you would have to zigzag quite a bit, but you
wouldn't. You could go down Corinth Street and go across the viaduct,
but that would get him down on Industrial, which would still be a lot
of traffic to go through. He could go down Clarendon to Marsalis and
go North Ewing and then get over to Lancaster, and a would give him
a straight shoot to the Houston Street viaduct, which would take him
right to Elm and Houston.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account