Assassination of John Kennedy
| Assassination of John F. Kennedy | |
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President Kennedy with his wife, Jacqueline, and Texas Governor John Connally with his wife, Nellie, in the presidential limousine, minutes before the assassination
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| Location | Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 32°46′45″N 96°48′31″W / 32.77903°N 96.80867°WCoordinates: 32°46′45″N 96°48′31″W / 32.77903°N 96.80867°W |
| Date | November 22, 1963 12:30 p.m. (Central Standard Time) |
| Target | John F. Kennedy |
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Attack type
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Sniper assassination |
| Weapons | 6.5×52mm Italian Carcano M91/38 sniper rifle |
| Deaths | 2 (President Kennedy, J. D. Tippit) |
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Non-fatal injuries
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2 (Governor Connally, James Tague) |
| Perpetrator | Lee Harvey Oswald |
John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was assassinated on Friday, November 22, 1963, at 12:30 p.m. in Dallas, Texas while riding in a presidential motorcade in Dealey Plaza. Kennedy was riding with his wife Jacqueline, Texas Governor John Connally, and Connally's wife, Nellie, when he was fatally shot. Governor Connally was seriously wounded in the attack. The motorcade rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital where President Kennedy was pronounced dead about thirty minutes after the shooting; Connally recovered from his injuries.
Former U.S. MarineLee Harvey Oswald was arrested by members of the Dallas Police Department about 70 minutes after the initial shooting. Oswald was charged under Texas state law with the murder of Kennedy as well as that of a Dallas policeman who had been fatally shot a short time after the assassination. Oswald himself was fatally shot by Jack Ruby before he could stand trial for the murders. A ten-month investigation by the Warren Commission from November 1963 to September 1964 concluded that Oswald acted alone in shooting Kennedy, and that Ruby also acted alone when he killed Oswald. Kennedy's death marked the fourth (following those of Lincoln, Garfield, and McKinley) and most recent assassination of an American President. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson automatically became President upon Kennedy's death.
In contrast to the conclusions of the Warren Commission, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded in 1979 that Kennedy was "probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy". The HSCA agreed with the Warren Commission that the injuries sustained by Kennedy and Connally were caused by Oswald's three rifle shots, but they also determined the existence of an additional gunshot based on analysis of an audio recording and therefore "... a high probability that two gunmen fired at [the] President." The Committee was not able to identify any individuals or groups involved with the possible conspiracy. In addition, the HSCA found that the original federal investigations were "seriously flawed" with respect to information-sharing and the possibility of conspiracy. As recommended by the HSCA, the acoustic evidence indicating conspiracy was subsequently re-examined and rejected.
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Wikipedia