Mar 13, 2007 12:02 am US/Central
Evidence Of A Third Shot Fired At JFK?
by Tracy Rowlett
DALLAS (CBS 11 News) ―
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Sixth Floor Museum at Dealy Plaza
They had a date with destiny in Dealey Plaza. Three shots changed the course of history.
More than 43 years after the Kennedy assassination, some folks still wonder whether Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone.
Two people who have studied the facts believe a critical piece of evidence remains hidden at the scene.
The Zapruder Film documents two shots fired hit the president in Dealey Plaza. But eye witnesses heard three shots. Many have presumed it was the third shot which missed its mark.
"You absolutely cannot tell when the first shot was fired in the Zapruder Film," said author Max Holland. "The FBI has always said that it's open to new evidence"
Holland and a colleague studied the film and photographs when the secret service restaged the assassination. They concluded the first shot was fired as the motorcade turned onto Elm Street and before the two shots on the Zapruder Film.
At a close range, why would the gunman have missed?
"You can see here the traffic post and mast," said Holland. He believes the first shot hit the top of the mast holding the traffic signal.
"There would probably be a small indentation, probably on the top of the mast from where the bullet was deflected," Holland said. "It might also be possible that in the indentation, you'll find some of the copper alloy that was around the lead bullet."
The curator of the Sixth Floor Museum, Gary Mack, concedes it's possible, but remains skeptical. "There's no way to tell for sure if that's the original street light."
CBS 11 News asked the city's public works department.
"I wish I could tell you this is the original signal," said Alex Wong, City of Dallas Public Works and Transportation Department. "But our department only keeps records of the traffic signal repair and replacement for up to seven years."
Even if you found a dent, it would be difficult to determine if it had been caused by a bullet.
"It might be a very small dent that you'd see perhaps on an x-ray," said Holland.
If the bullet hit the mast, could it have ricocheted and be responsible for the fragment which hit someone down near the triple underpass?
Tests conducted by the FBI and CBS News both concluded it would be nearly impossible for anyone to fire off three shots anywhere between 5.6 and 8.3 seconds. But Holland's finding would give the gunman 11.2 seconds to fire them.
If that were true, Holland said, "We would know that it was not an extraordinary act of marksmanship, assuring us that Oswald was the lone gunman in Dealey Plaza and put to rest any notion that he had to have help in order to pull off that feat of marksmanship."
Did Lee Harvey Oswald act alone when he shot the president from the schoolbook depository? More than 43 years after the assassination, conspiracy theorists still abound. Although all of the facts still point to Oswald, it still does not stop the speculation.
Holland says he's talked to Warren Commission staff members, FBI ballistic experts and secret service agents who were in the motorcade. They all tell him they believe the mast is worth inspecting.
As of Monday night (March 12), there are no known plans to do so.
(CBS 11 News)
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