JFK Assassination
At 12;30 am, November 22nd, in Dealey Plaza Dallas. John F Kennedy was shot two times and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald. Lee Harvey Oswald shot Kennedy from the school book depository.
Background
John F Kennedy decided on a political trip to Texas in order to smooth over frictions in the Democratic Party between liberals Ralph Yarborough and Don Yarborough as well as conservative John Connolly. He also wanted to campaign for the next presidential election in 1964. This was necessary as he lost the vote in Dallas the year he was elected. The information regarding Kennedys trip to Dallas was first announced to the public in September. The planned motorcade was released to the public on November 18th, 4 days prior to his assassination. During his time in Texas, Kennedy delivered a number of speeches and functions including a dedication speech at Brooks air force base, A testimonial dinner in Houston, and a chamber of commerce breakfast speech.; this was to be the last speech Kennedy ever delivered. Kennedy and his wife as well as the rest of his entourage, touched town at Love field airport in Dallas at approximately 11;38 am after a short flight from Carswell air force base in fort Worth. Kennedy, his wife Jacqueline, and the rest of the entourage left the airport at around 11:55 am. The motorcade left a lot later than planned due to the plane arriving late and taking a further fifteen or so minutes to leave the airport. The motorcade was running late and would not meet the planned arrival time of 12;15 of the lunch function at the Dallas Trade mart.
Assassination
The motorcade was travelling through the city centre at a very low speed due to the large crowds there and were running late to attend the function. The motorcade turned on to Dealey plaza at 12;29, making a right turn from main street on to Houston street. Just before 12:30 pm, the motorcade passed the school book depository building and made a sharp left turn on to Elm street, where shortly after, witnesses state the shooting started. At precisely 12: 30 pm, the first of the 3 shots were fired. The first shot missed Kennedy while the second and third shot hit him. The second shot hit Kennedy in the throat and is partially seen in the Zapruder film where he clenches his fists and brings them up to his throat. The third shot was the infamous fatal head shot seen on the Zapruder film (as shown below). the third shot opened up the right half of Kennedys head. Kennedy was rushed to parkland hospital while the police attempted to find the shooter. Governor Connolly, who as in the limousine sitting in front of Kennedy , was also struck by one of the bullets and suffered several severe wounds to the chest, shoulder and wrist. The warren commission concluded later that Kennedy and Connolly were shot simultaneously by the same bullet and this is known as the "single/magic bullet'" theory. Reports were sent out to look for a man fitting Lee Harvey Oswald's description, The killer of John F Kennedy. After the shooting Jackie Kennedy, who was sitting next to JFK climbed to the back of the car while secret service agent climbed on board the limousine. The Limousine the accelerated and headed to Parkland hospital, passing their intended destination and arriving at the hospital at 12;38 pm..
Aftermath
Lee Harvey Oswald was first encountered by an armed policeman in the Texas school book depository building, Marion Baker, less than 90 seconds after the last shot. Marion Baker confronted Oswald who "looked shocked "and was released. There he later discovered the Carcano rifle and took pictures of it, alerting the police. Oswald later went to his rooming house at around 1;00 pm where he left four minutes later. police officer J.D.Tippet was shot dead soon after at 1:15 pm at the intersection of 10th street and Patton Ave. thirteen people witnessed the man shooting Tippet whom police later identified as Lee Harvey Oswald. a police callout was made for a man carrying a pistol and fitting the descriptions stated by the witnesses. While running away from the scene of the crime, Oswald killed a police officer J.D Tippet. After the shooting, Oswald was witnessed entering Texas Theatre on west Jefferson Boulevard. Believing the killer of Tippet to be inside , over two-dozen police officers turned up. Oswald was finally arrested and taken to the Dallas police station. John F Kennedy meanwhile was rushed to hospital and taken to the emergency room where Roman Catholic priest administered the Last rites to Kennedy. Dr Malcolm Perry was the first to treat Kennedy and performed surgery on him in a dire attempt to save his life. However, at 1;00 pm John F Kennedy was pronounced dead. His body was taken from parkland hospital soon after to Air Force One. Taking the body from the hospital before forensic examination was against Texas state laws and a short confrontation arose between doctors and Kennedys special assistant Ken O'Donnell. Because of this swift transfer, some people believe it to be a cover up by the US government, in which they "manipulated" the body. While on Air Force One, Lyndon Baines Johnson took the oath of presidency and sworn in as the 36th president of the United States of America at 2:38 pm. Oswald meanwhile was charged with the murder of JD Tippett and later charged for the assassination of John F Kennedy. On November 24th,at 11:29 am, the same day as Kennedy's funeral, Oswald was shot in front of television cameras. He was shot and mortally wounded in the basement of Dallas police headquarters while being transferred to an armoured truck by Jack Ruby. This man was a local nightclub owner and had ties with the mafia. Therefore, He has become the result of many conspiracy theories stating he silenced Oswald on behalf of the mafia.
The video below shows the reaction to John F Kennedy's assassination. In this video we see the amount of distress that occurred as a result of hearing the news. It showed the utmost grief and sincerity people felt worldwide over the death of John F Kennedy. This is shown by flags being lowered to half mast and of people worshipping a picture of Kennedy.
|
|