5 – Dismissing the Single Bullet Theory
The Single Bullet Theory was used by the Warren Commission to fit in with the idea that only three bullets were fired by the assassin. The ‘theory’ evolved over time when new evidence came to light. Then the news came that James Tague, an innocent bystander, was struck by fragments from one of the bullets, so it was up to the Commission to create a theory that didn’t conflict with their available evidence.
Eventually, it determined that one bullet was responsible for all the non-fatal injuries sustained by Kennedy and Connally. It entered the President’s back, exited via his throat, entered Connally’s back, and exited via his chest after passing through his right wrist; then it lodged in his left thigh. Another bullet entered the President’s head while Tague was struck by the third bullet.
The main evidence in support of the Single Bullet Theory is that no bullets or bullet fragments were discovered in the President’s body; there were only fragments from the bullet that hit him in the head.
Practically every element of the Warren Report came under fire, but nothing drew more derision from skeptics than the notion that a single bullet caused so much damage to Kennedy and Connally. In fact, Connally told the Commission that he was hit in the back by a bullet fired later than the ones that hit the President. He maintained for the rest of his life that he was struck by a different bullet. The Governor’s wife and a police motorcyclist beside the motorcade both testified that Connally was struck by a separate bullet.
The famed Zapruder film appears to prove the Governor right. In Frame 225, the President is holding his throat; he had almost certainly been hit at this point. There are no signs of Connally sustaining a wound until Frame 238, some two-thirds of a second later. At that point, he fell. The conclusion is that the bullet that hit Connally was fired after the bullet which hit the President in the throat. Also, there is no way that Oswald could have fired two bullets so close to one another given the rifle he used.
There is a multitude of other objections to the Single Bullet Theory. For example, given the President’s position when he was struck, there is no way a single bullet could hit the parts of the back and throat where he had the wounds. Either his throat wound is too high up, or his back wound is too low down for the Single Bullet Theory to hold water.
Overall, the length of time between the shots, the weapon’s capabilities and the nature of the injuries sustained by the President and the Governor pretty much rip the Single Bullet Theory to shreds. It also casts grave doubts on the idea that Oswald was the Lone Gunman. Although almost everyone in the crowd heard only three shots, the wounds on the President, Connally, and Tague suggest there could have been more. The low quality of Oswald’s rifle means he couldn’t have executed the shots in such a short space of time.