Mention the name Lee Harvey Oswald killing and people immediately start arguing. It’s been decades, but the events of November 22, 1963, still feel like a raw nerve in American history. Most people think they know the story. A guy with a rifle, a sixth-floor window, and a President in a convertible. But when you actually dig into the documents—the messy, contradictory, and often confusing files—you realize the "official" version is just the beginning of a much weirder rabbit hole.
Honestly, it’s kinda wild how one afternoon in Dallas changed everything.
You’ve got a 24-year-old ex-Marine with a $19 rifle taking down the most powerful man on Earth. At least, that’s what the Warren Commission wanted everyone to believe. But then you have the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) coming along in 1979 and saying, "Wait a minute, there was probably a conspiracy." It’s no wonder 65% of Americans still don’t buy the lone wolf story.
The Lee Harvey Oswald Killing: A Timeline of Chaos
The day didn't start with a murder. It started with a motorcade.
At 12:30 p.m., the presidential limousine turned onto Elm Street, passing the Texas School Book Depository. That’s where Oswald was working. According to the Warren Report, he had spent the morning on the sixth floor, tucked behind some boxes of textbooks. He had a 6.5mm Mannlicher-Carcano rifle.
Three shots.
The first one missed. The second one hit Kennedy in the back and came out his throat, then somehow hit Governor John Connally. This is the "Single Bullet Theory" that people have been mocking for years. The third shot? That was the fatal one.
Oswald didn't stick around. He basically just walked out the front door.
The Murder of Officer J.D. Tippit
About 45 minutes after the shots rang out in Dealey Plaza, another shooting happened. This is the part of the Lee Harvey Oswald killing story that gets skipped over in the movies sometimes. A Dallas police officer named J.D. Tippit pulled over a man matching Oswald's description in the Oak Cliff neighborhood.
Oswald shot him four times.
He then ducked into the Texas Theatre without paying for a ticket. That’s where the cops finally caught him. He didn't go quietly; he actually tried to shoot another officer before they wrestled him down.
Why the Evidence is a Total Mess
If you look at the forensic side, it's easy to see why the theories started flying almost immediately.
- The Rifle: The Mannlicher-Carcano was a cheap, bolt-action Italian weapon. Experts have debated for years whether a "mediocre" shot like Oswald could have fired three rounds that accurately in under eight seconds.
- The Palm Print: Investigators found Oswald's palm print on the rifle, but only after he was dead. Skeptics claim it was planted.
- The Backyard Photos: There are pictures of Oswald holding the rifle and a Communist newspaper. Oswald claimed they were fakes with his head superimposed on someone else's body. Modern digital analysis says they're likely real, but the doubt remains.
The autopsy was a disaster too. It was performed at Bethesda Naval Hospital rather than in Dallas, and the doctors were under immense pressure. They didn't even realize the throat wound was an exit wound at first because the Dallas doctors had performed a tracheotomy over it to try and save JFK's life.
What the Warren Commission Got Wrong (And Right)
The Warren Commission was set up by Lyndon B. Johnson to stop the rumors. They wanted to show the world that this wasn't a Soviet plot or a Cuban hit. They worked fast—maybe too fast.
Their conclusion was simple: Oswald did it. He acted alone. Jack Ruby, the guy who shot Oswald two days later, also acted alone. Case closed.
But it wasn't closed.
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In the late 70s, the HSCA looked at the evidence again. They used "acoustical evidence" from a police motorcycle microphone that was stuck in the "on" position. They claimed it recorded four shots, which meant there had to be a second shooter on the "Grassy Knoll." Later studies by the National Academy of Sciences questioned that audio, but the damage to the "lone gunman" narrative was done.
The Jack Ruby Problem
You can't talk about the Lee Harvey Oswald killing without talking about his own death. On November 24, as Oswald was being moved through the basement of the Dallas police station, Jack Ruby stepped out of the crowd and shot him in the stomach.
On live TV.
Ruby was a nightclub owner with ties to the mob. He claimed he killed Oswald to spare Jackie Kennedy the pain of a trial. It sounds noble, but it's also a great way to silence a witness. If Oswald was part of a bigger plot, Ruby made sure he’d never talk.
Was Oswald a "Patsy"?
Oswald’s own words haunt this case. "I’m just a patsy!" he yelled to reporters while being paraded through the station.
He was a strange guy. He defected to the Soviet Union in 1959, tried to renounce his U.S. citizenship, then changed his mind and came back with a Russian wife. He was an avowed Marxist who also had weird connections to anti-Castro groups in New Orleans.
Some people, like historian Jim Douglass, argue that Oswald was being "managed" by intelligence agencies. Others, like Vincent Bugliosi, say he was just a miserable, frustrated loner who wanted to be a "great man" in history.
The Limits of What We Know
Even in 2026, with thousands of pages of declassified documents, we don't have a smoking gun for a conspiracy. We have a lot of "weird coincidences."
We know the CIA was tracking Oswald before the assassination. We know the FBI had an open file on him. We know he visited the Soviet and Cuban embassies in Mexico City just weeks before Dallas. But "knowing about him" isn't the same as "hiring him."
The most realistic take? The government probably didn't kill JFK, but they definitely dropped the ball. They had a defector living in Dallas right on the parade route and did... nothing. The cover-up wasn't necessarily about a murder plot; it was about protecting the reputations of agencies that failed to do their jobs.
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Actionable Insights for History Buffs
If you’re trying to make sense of the Lee Harvey Oswald killing, don't just watch movies. Go to the sources.
- Read the Warren Report Summary: It’s long, but the first chapter outlines exactly why they thought it was Oswald.
- Compare it with the HSCA Findings: Look at the 1979 report to see where the government started doubting its own story.
- Visit the Mary Ferrell Foundation: This is the gold standard for JFK documents. They have the actual FBI files, declassified CIA memos, and witness statements.
- Analyze the Zapruder Film: Don't just watch it for the gore. Watch the movement of the car and the reactions of the Secret Service agents.
The truth is, we might never know for 100% certainty if Oswald pulled the trigger alone. But the evidence we have shows a young man who was deeply troubled, highly political, and caught in the middle of a Cold War that was much bigger than he was.
Start by looking at the Mexico City trip from September 1963. That’s where the most legitimate "missing pieces" still hide today. Focus on the hard documents rather than the hearsay. The archives are open—you just have to be willing to do the reading.