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By Forensic Perspectives
🔍 Introduction
Few crimes in modern history have been as thoroughly scrutinized as the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963.
At the center of debates — from the Warren Commission to conspiracy theories — lies the forensic ballistics evidence. How were the shots fired? How many bullets? And could one man, Lee Harvey Oswald, really have carried it out alone?
📅 The Shooting in Dealey Plaza
Date: November 22, 1963
Location: Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas
Weapon: 6.5mm Carcano rifle
Suspect: Lee Harvey Oswald
At 12:30 p.m., President Kennedy was shot while riding in an open-top limousine. Texas Governor John Connally, seated ahead of him, was also wounded.
Oswald was arrested later that day and accused of firing three shots from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository.
🔬 Ballistics Evidence
1. Rifle and Ammunition
Oswald allegedly used a bolt-action 6.5×52mm Carcano Model 91/38 rifle.
Three shell casings were found near the sixth-floor window.
A bullet (Commission Exhibit 399, the “magic bullet”) was recovered from a stretcher at Parkland Hospital.
2. The “Single Bullet Theory”
Proposed by the Warren Commission, this theory argued that one bullet:
Entered Kennedy’s upper back
Exited through his throat
Struck Governor Connally in the back, breaking a rib
Exited his chest, hit his wrist, and lodged in his thigh
Ballistics experts used trajectory analysis to test alignment.
When Kennedy and Connally’s seating positions were reconstructed, the bullet path aligned with Oswald’s firing position.
Critics argued it was improbable for a single bullet to cause such damage and still appear largely intact.
3. Head Shot Analysis
The fatal headshot was captured on the Zapruder film, showing Kennedy’s head moving violently backward.
Some interpreted this as proof of a shot from the front (“grassy knoll”).
Forensic pathologists explained that neuromuscular reactions and pressure shockwaves could cause backward movement even when shot from behind.
Autopsy reports and skull fragment trajectories supported a shot from the rear.
4. Bullet Identification
The FBI Laboratory conducted microscopic striation analysis:
Bullet fragments from the limousine and Kennedy’s body were matched to Oswald’s Carcano rifle.
Rifling grooves (4 lands and grooves, right-hand twist) were consistent with the Carcano weapon.
No other rifle matched these patterns.
💥 Points of Controversy
Number of Shooters?
Ballistics analysis supported three shots fired from Oswald’s position. Conspiracy theories suggest multiple shooters based on earwitness testimony and acoustic anomalies.
“Magic Bullet” skepticism
Critics argue CE 399 appeared “too intact” to have caused so much damage. Defenders say bone strikes can leave bullets intact if energy disperses gradually.
Trajectory Disputes
Some analyses claim angles did not line up perfectly. Re-creations, however, accounted for seating misalignment between Kennedy and Connally.
⚖️ Official Findings
Warren Commission (1964): Concluded Oswald acted alone.
House Select Committee on Assassinations (1979): Suggested a “high probability of a second gunman,” but evidence was inconclusive.
Modern forensic re-analysis (including 3D computer simulations) has generally supported the likelihood that Oswald could have fired all shots alone.
🔬 Lessons in Forensic Ballistics
1. Trajectory analysis can reconstruct exact shooter position.
2. Microscopic striations on bullets remain the gold standard in firearm identification.
3. Context matters — eyewitness accounts, autopsy evidence, and video must all be cross-checked with ballistics.
4. Controversial cases show how forensic science can be interpreted differently depending on context and assumptions.
📚 References
Warren Commission Report (1964)
House Select Committee on Assassinations, Final Report (1979)
FBI Laboratory Ballistics Testimony, National Archives
Posner, G. Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK (1993)
🔗 More forensic case studies at: ForensicPerspectives.blogspot.com
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