Post by Rob Caprio on Nov 11, 2018 22:33:13 GMT -5
All portions are ©️ Robert Caprio 2006-2024
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The Warren Commission (WC) said all three shots fired at the presidential limousine came from the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD) and nowhere else, but the evidence in their own twenty-six volumes shows this to be INCORRECT. As we have seen in previous posts in this series numerous witnesses said they believed the shots came from the Grassy Knoll (GK) area or the western part of Dealey Plaza (DP).
This post will show us even more witnesses who believed the shots came from somewhere other than the TSBD.
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Keep this photograph in mind when reading about the direction of shots.
historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/html/WH_Vol17_0461b.htm
Victoria Adams is discussed often in this case regarding her time on the stairs of the TSBD, but she is less mentioned in regards to the location of the shots. She was inside the TSBD when the motorcade came and the shots rang out. She was on the fourth floor.
Mr. BELIN - Where were you when the motorcade passed?
Miss ADAMS - I was at the----
Mr. BELIN - Were you inside or outside the building?
Miss ADAMS - I was inside the building.
Mr. BELIN - What floor?
Miss ADAMS - Fourth floor.
Mr. BELIN - Did you watch the motorcade through a window?
Miss ADAMS - Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN - Now, of that third pair, from the east side, would it have been the east window or the west window?
Miss ADAMS - The west window.
Mr. BELIN - So another way, if you don't count in pairs, but count in single units from the east side, you would have been in the sixth window from your left as you were facing out the window, is that correct?
Miss ADAMS - That's right.
So we have her location in the building now. She was watching with others including Sandra Styles who would be on the stairs with her at the time Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO) was supposedly coming down them. She would say the tree also obstructed her view too.
Miss ADAMS - And from our vantage point we were able to see what the President's wife was wearing, the roses in the car, and things that would attract men's attention. Then we heard---then we were obstructed from the view.
Mr. BELIN - By what?
Miss ADAMS - A tree. and we heard a shot, and it was a pause, and then a second shot, and then a third shot.
It sounded like a firecracker or a cannon at a football game, it seemed as if it came from the right below rather than from the left above. Possibly because of the report. And after the third shot, following that, the third shot, I went to the back of the building down the back stairs, and encountered Bill Shelley and Bill Lovelady on the first floor on the way out to the Houston Street dock.
She said it (a shot) sounded like it came “from the right BELOW rather than from the left ABOVE.” She is clearly saying it did not sound like the shots she heard came from the eastern window of the sixth floor of the TSBD. She would also tell us this interesting bit of news about early reports of where the shots came from via the Dallas Police Department (DPD).
Mr. BELIN - What did you do when you got there?
Miss ADAMS - When I got there, I happened to look around and noticed several of the employees, and I noticed Joe Molina, for one, was standing in front of the building, and also Avery Davis, who works with me, and I said, "What do you think has happened?"
And she said, "I don't know."
And I said, "I want to find out." I think the President is shot.
There was a motorcycle that was parked on the corner of Houston and Elm directly in front of the east end of the building, and I paused-there to listen to the report on the police radio, and they said that shots had been fired which apparently came either from the second floor or the fourth floor window, and so I panicked, as I was at the only open window on the fourth floor.
We see early reports said the shots came from either the SECOND or FOURTH floor! We have seen this before in DPD transcripts. Why did NO one zero on the sixth floor IF that is where the shots came from? We had cops think it was the GK area en masse, we had cops think it was the second floor, the fourth floor, the fifth floor and the roof of the TSBD, but NO one thought it was the sixth floor for sometime. Why?
The WC lawyer tried to save the situation and should be given credit for quick thinking.
Mr. BELIN - Did they say second floor or second floor from the top?
Miss ADAMS - It said second floor. So then I decided maybe I had better go back into the building, and going up the stairs---
Sorry, but she stuck with SECOND FLOOR! She would tell them to that there was a cop on the stairs, but he did NOT stop them from reentering the building and this seems odd if shots had come from there just moments before as claimed.
Mr. BELIN - Now at this time when you went back into the building, were there any policemen standing in front of the building keeping people out?
Miss ADAMS - There was an officer on the stairs itself, and he was prohibiting people from entering the building, that is correct. But I told him I worked there.
Mr. BELIN - Did he let you come back in?
Miss ADAMS - Yes, sir.
Why would this cop let them back in so soon after shots were fired from the building supposedly? We know it was NOT long after too as she was asked about this.
Mr. BELIN - Now trying to reconstruct your actions insofar as the time sequence, which we haven't done, what is your best estimate of the time between the time the shots were fired and the time you got back to the building? How much time elapsed? If you have any estimate. Maybe you don't have one.
Miss ADAMS - I would estimate not more than 5 minutes elapsed.
Again, Belin would try to put doubt into this estimation as it seems odd they would be allowed back in, but again she is pretty firm in this and she tells us she had gone to the RAILROAD tracks!
Mr. BELIN - Is there any particular reason why you make this estimation?
Miss ADAMS - Yes, sir; going down the stairs toward the back, I was running. I ran to the railroad tracks. I moved quickly to the front of the building, paused briefly to talk to someone, listened only to the report of the windows from which the shot supposedly was fired, and returned to the building.
And of course she saw or heard NO one on the stairs LHO was allegedly running down.
Mr. BELIN - You heard no one else running down the stairs?
Miss ADAMS - Correct.
Victoria Adams is another witness who placed the shots near the GK area and NOT the TSBD and she was INSIDE the TSBD too. She also placed them more on street level (or second floor?) rather up high as the WC said.
Another witness is Julia Ann Mercer. She was NOT called before the WC and one has to wonder why not? She did NOT state she heard shots, but she saw a man with what she thought was a rifle get out of truck and move towards the GK area. Here are the relevant portions from her affidavit.
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On November 22, 1963, I was driving a rented White Valient automobile west on Elm Street and was proceeding to the overpass in a westerly direction and at a point about 45 or 50 feet east of the overhead signs of the right entrance road to the overpass, there was a truck parked on the right hand side of the road.
A man was sitting under the wheel of the car and slouched over the wheel. This man had on a green jacket, was a white male and about his 40's and was heavy set. I did not see him too clearly. Another man was at the back of the truck and reached over the tailgate and took out from the truck what appeared to be a gun case. This case was about 8" wide at its widest spot and tapered down to a width of about 4" or 5". It was brown in color. It had a handle and was about 3 1/2 to 4 feet long. The man who took this out of the truck then proceeded to walk away from the truck and he reached down to free it. He then proceeded to walk across the grass and up the grassy hill which forms part of the overpass. This is the last I saw of this man.
The man who took what appeared to be the gun case out of the truck was a white male, who appeared to be in his late 20's or early 30's and he was wearing a grey jacket, brown pants and plaid shirt as best as I can remember. I remember he had on some kind of a hat that looked like a wool stocking hat with a tassell in the middle of it. I believe that I can identify this man if I see him again.
The man who remained in the truck had light brown hair and I believe I could identify him also if I were to see him again.
(signed by) Julia Ann Mercer.
www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh19/html/WH_Vol19_0251a.htm
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Who were these men? Mercer was pretty sure the driver was Jack Ruby as she recognized him from photographs the FBI has shown her on the day of the assassination when he shot LHO on Sunday. As for the younger man we have no idea unfortunately. The point is she did not see this take place near the TSBD.
Lee Bowers also would tell of a location that was NOT the EASTERN side of the TSBD as claimed.
Mr. BALL - Did you hear anything?
Mr. BOWERS - I heard three shots. One, then a slight pause, then two very close together. Also reverberation from the shots.
Mr. BELIN - And were you able to form an opinion as to the source of the sound or what direction it came from, I mean?
Mr. BOWERS - The sounds came either from up against the School Depository Building or near the mouth of the triple underpass.
Mr. BALL - Were you able to tell which?
Mr. BOWERS - No; I could not.
Mr. BALL - Well, now, had you had any experience before being in the tower as to sounds coming from those various places?
Mr. BOWERS - Yes; I had worked this same tower for some 10 or 12 years, and was there during the time they were renovating the School Depository Building, and had noticed at that time the similarity of sounds occurring in either of those two locations.
Mr. BALL - Can you tell me now whether or not it came, the sounds you heard, the three shots came from the direction of the Depository Building or the triple underpass?
Mr. BOWERS - No; I could not.
He couldn’t be 100% sure, but the issue was NOT a choice between the EASTERN window of the sixth floor and the triple underpass, but rather between the triple underpass and “up against” the TSBD (i.e. WESTERN side)! The alleged SN was NEVER in contention in this discussion. Also, he saw two men who seemed suspicious to him and they were NOT near the TSBD.
Mr. BALL - Now, were there any people standing on the high side---high ground between your tower and where Elm Street goes down under the underpass toward the mouth of the underpass?
Mr. BOWERS - Directly in line, towards the mouth of the underpass, there were two men. One man, middle-aged, or slightly older, fairly heavy-set, in a white shirt, fairly dark trousers. Another younger man, about midtwenties, in either a plaid shirt or plaid coat or jacket.
Mr. BALL - Were they standing together or standing separately?
Mr. BOWERS - They were standing within 10 or 15 feet of each other, and gave no appearance of being together, as far as I knew.
Mr. BALL - In what direction were they facing?
Mr. BOWERS - They were facing and looking up towards Main and Houston, and following the caravan as it came down.
Of course Bowers said something in the vicinity of the GK had attracted his attention, but was never allowed to tell us what it was.
Mr. BALL - When you said there was a commotion, what do you mean by that? What did it look like to you when you were looking at the commotion?
Mr. BOWERS - I just am unable to describe rather than it was something out of the ordinary, a sort of milling around, but something occurred in this particular spot which was out of the ordinary, which attracted my eye for some reason, which I could not identify.
Mr. BALL - You couldn't describe it?
Mr. BOWERS - Nothing that I could pinpoint as having happened that---
He was cut off and that was that. Bowers noted one of the men he saw had on a white shirt.
Mr. BOWERS - Directly in line, towards the mouth of the underpass, there were two men. One man, middle-aged, or slightly older, fairly heavy-set, in a white shirt, fairly dark trousers. Another younger man, about midtwenties, in either a plaid shirt or plaid coat or jacket.
Mr. BALL - Were the two men there at the time?
Mr. BOWERS - I--as far as I know, one of them was. The other I could not say. The darker dressed man was too hard to distinguish from the trees. The white shirt, yes; I think he was.
Remember this as our next witness would mention a man in a white shirt too. J.C. Price was NOT called before the WC, but he did give us an affidavit to peruse.
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historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh24/pages/WH_Vol24_0120b.gif
There was a volley of shots, and then much later, maybe as much as five minutes [sic!] later, another one. I saw one man run towards the passenger cars on the railroad siding after the volley of shots. This man had a white dress shirt, no tie and kahki [sic] colored trousers. His hair appeared to be long and dark and his agility running could be about 35 yrs [sic] of age. He had something in his hand. I couldn't be sure but it may have been a head piece.
historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh24/html/WH_Vol24_0120b.htm
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A head piece? Could this have been a transmitter/receiver for the shooting sequence? Notice his mention of the man with the possible head piece wearing a white shirt! Did they see the same man? This is called corroboration and it is something the WC witnesses are sorely lacking.
S.M. Holland is our next witness. As we saw in #123 in this series he too thought the shots came from the GK area and he saw what appeared to be white smoke near the trees.
Mr. STERN - Did you hear a third report?
Mr. HOLLAND - I heard a third report and I counted four shots and about the same time all this was happening, and in this group of trees--[indicating].
Mr. STERN - Now, you are indicating trees on the north side of Elm Street?
Mr. HOLLAND - These trees right along here [indicating].
Mr. STERN - Let's mark this Exhibit C and draw a circle around the trees you are referring to.
Mr. HOLLAND - Right in there. (Indicating.)
There was a shot, a report, I don't know whether it was a shot. I can't say that. And a puff of smoke came out about 6 or 8 feet above the ground right out from under those trees. And at just about this location from where I was standing you could see that puff of smoke, like someone had thrown a firecracker, or something out, and that is just about the way it sounded. It wasn't as loud as the previous reports or shots.
Mr. STERN - So, that it might have been the third or the fourth?
Mr. HOLLAND - It could have been the third or fourth, but there were definitely four reports.
Mr. STERN - You have no doubt about that?
Mr. HOLLAND - I have no doubt about it. I have no doubt about seeing that puff of smoke come out from under those trees either.
He had NO doubt that the smoke he saw came from the trees near the picket fence on the GK. Another witness that is interesting, and does NOT get mentioned much for this topic, is James Tague. Tague was standing under the triple underpass when he was hit by a ricochet from a bullet. The GK was to his left.
Mr. LIEBELER. I understand. Did you have any idea where these shots came from when you heard them ringing out?
Mr. TAGUE. Yes; I thought they were coming from my left.
Mr. LIEBELER. Immediately to your left, or toward the back? Of course, now we have other evidence that would indicate that the shots did come from the Texas School Book Depository, but see if we can disregard that and determine just what you heard when the shots were fired in the first place.
Mr. TAGUE. To recall everything is almost impossible. Just an impression is all I recall, is the fact that my first impression was that up by the, whatever you call the monument, or whatever it was----
Mr. LIEBELER. Up above No. 7?
Mr. TAGUE. That somebody was throwing firecrackers up there, that the police were running up there to see what was going on, and this was my first impression. Somebody was causing a disturbance, that somebody had drawn a gun and was shooting at the crowd, and the police were running up to it. When I saw the people throwing themselves on the ground is when I realized there was serious trouble, and I believe that was after the third shot was fired.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you look up near the railroad tracks in that area after you heard the shots?
Mr. TAGUE. I looked all around. I looked at the complete area to try to find out where the disturbance was. And for some reason, after the third shot, I believe I ducked down back in here.
Perhaps the reason he is NOT mentioned in this topic more is for all his reasons above he towed the line when it came to the final destination.
Mr. LIEBELER. The car immediately behind the President. Did you see any evidence of anybody having fired from the area on the railroad tracks above the triple underpass?
Mr. TAGUE. None.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you think that it is consistent with what you heard and saw that day, that the shots could have come from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository?
Mr. TAGUE. Yes.
Of course he is biased in the sense he was hit by a ricochet and that could NOT have come from the GK area! What was left out of the question was if he thought the shots could have come from the WESTERN side of the TSBD!
I have quoted the next witness numerous times saying he thought the shots came from BEHIND him and he was on the concrete abutment! Here is what Abraham Zapruder said before the WC.
Mr. LIEBELER - You didn't hear any shot after you saw him hit?
Mr. ZAPRUDER - I heard the second--after the first shot--I saw him leaning over and after the second shot--it's possible after what I saw, you know, then I started yelling, "They killed him, they killed him," and I just felt that somebody had ganged up on him and I was still shooting the pictures until he got under the underpass--I don't even know how I did it. And then, I didn't even remember how I got down from that abutment there, but there I was, I guess, and I was walking toward--back toward my office and screaming, "They killed him, they killed him," and the people that I met on the way didn't even know what happened and they kept yelling, "What happened, what happened, what happened?" It seemed that they had heard a shot but they didn't know exactly what had happened as the car sped away, and I kept on just yelling, "They killed him, they killed him, they killed him," and finally got to my office and my secretary--I told her to call the police or the Secret Service--I don't know what she was doing, and that's about all. I was very much upset. Naturally, I couldn't imagine such a thing being done. I just went to my desk and stopped there until the police came and then we were required to get a place to develop the films. I knew I had something, I figured it might be of some help--I didn't know what.
As to what happened--I remember the police were running behind me. There were police running right behind me. Of course, they didn't realize yet, I guess, where the shot came from--that it came from that height.
Mr. LIEBELER - As you were standing on this abutment facing Elm street, you say the police ran over behind the concrete structure behind you and down the railroad track behind that, is that right?
Mr. ZAPRUDER - After the shots?
Mr. LIEBELER - Yes.
Mr. ZAPRUDER - Yes--after the shots--yes, some of them were motorcycle cops--I guess they left their motorcycles running and they were running right behind me, of course, in the line of the shooting. I guess they thought it came from right behind me.
Mr. LIEBELER - Did you have any impression as to the direction from which these shots came?
Mr. ZAPRUDER - No, I also thought it came from back of me. Of course, you can't tell when something is in line it could come from anywhere, but being I was here and he was hit on this line and he was hit right in the head--I saw it right around here, so it looked like it came from here and it could come from there.
Mr. LIEBELER - All right, as you stood here on the abutment and looked down into Elm Street, you saw the President hit on the right side of the head and you thought perhaps the shots had come from behind you?
Mr. ZAPRUDER - Well, yes.
Mr. LIEBELER - From the direction behind you?
Mr. ZAPRUDER - Yes, actually--I couldn't say what I thought at the moment, where they came from--after the impact of the tragedy was really what I saw and I started and I said--yelling, "They've killed him"--I assumed that they came from there, because as the police started running back of me, it looked like it came from the back of me.
Clearly he thought the shots originated from BEHIND him in the GK area. Another interesting witness is SS Agent Forrest Sorrels. Here is what he said.
Mr. STERN - When you looked at the terrace to the right of Elm Street, did you observe any unusual movement?
Mr. SORRELS - No; I didn't see anything unusual at that time.
Mr. STERN - But you didn't observe anything that led you to feel that the shots might have been fired from that terrace there?
Mr. SORRELS - No, sir.
Mr. STERN - It sounded to you at first as though it came from there?
Mr. SORRELS - That is the way it sounded--back into the rear and to the right, back up in that direction. And in the direction, of course, of the building.
But the reports seemed to be so loud, that it sounded like to me in other words, that was my first thought, somebody up on the terrace, and that is the reason I looked there.
The WC would of course have him agree the shots could have come from the TSBD as they claimed, but this is an interesting comment by him.
Mr. STERN - Now, did you recognize it at the time as a shot?
Mr. SORRELS - I felt it was, because it was too sharp for a backfire of an automobile. And, to me, it appeared a little bit too loud for a firecracker.
I just said, "What's that?" And turned around to look up on this terrace part there, because the sound sounded like it came from the back and up in that direction.
At that time, I did not look back up to the building, because it was way back in the back.
His initial reaction (meaning before he was TOLD what happened by the WC, FBI and DPD) was that the shot he first heard came from the “terrace” area. This was part of the GK, NOT the TSBD.
William Newman was another witness who placed the shots in the GK area. Needless to say, he was NOT called by the WC, but did give us this affidavit. Here is the relevant portion for this post.
grandsubversion.com/jfkAssassination/nobotimg/dlspt1/conspiracy%20theories%20jfk%20assassination%20eye%20witness%20photo%20kennedy%20shots%20fired.jpg
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I thought the shot had come from the garden directly behind me, that it was on an elevation from where I was as I was right on the curb. I do not recall looking toward the Texas School Book Depository. I looked back in the vacinity [sic] of the garden.
/s/ William E. Newman, Jr.
jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/wnewman.htm
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He is clearly saying he thought the shots came from the GK area. He did NOT even think of looking in the direction of the TSBD (and we saw many witnesses say this in the earlier posts) as he did NOT think the shots came from there. He was called to the stand in the Shaw trial and here is his exchange on this topic.
Q: How many shots did you hear?
A: I heard at least three. I often thought of four, but I can't clearly say there were four shots; I can clearly say there were three.
Q: Do you have any impression as to the direction from which the shots came?
A: Yes, sir. From the sound of the shots, the report of the rifle or whatever it was, it sounded like they were coming directly behind from where I was standing.
Q: Now would you push the microphone aside and step down to the aerial photograph and identify that general area, just the general area from which the sounds came.
A: In my opinion, the sounds of the shots sounded as if they had come from directly behind me (indicating). I was standing near this light standard here, and I thought the shots were coming from back here, and apparently everybody else did because they all ran in that direction.
Police Officer L.C. Smith also thought the shots came from the GK area. He was NOT called by the WC, but did fill out a Sheriff’s report on the issue.
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I knew then that this was gun shots and everyone else did also. I ran as fast as I could to Elm Street just West of Houston and I heard a woman unknown to me say the President was shot, in the head and the shots came from the fence on the North side of Elm. I went at one behind the fence and searched also in the parking area. Then came word that the shot was thought to have come from the Texas Book Depository Bldg., on the corner of Elm and Houston.
When I arrived there they were bringing in hand lights to search out the top floor. I helped search the 5, 6, and 7th floors.
jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/smith_lc.htm
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He sent word that the shots were thought to have come from the TSBD when nearly every cop and law enforcement person in the plaza went to the GK area? Notice too how they searched MULTIPLE FLOORS of the TSBD.
Malcolm Summers also said he thought the shots came from the GK area. Needless to say, he too was NOT called by the WC, but did give us an affidavit to read.
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Yesterday, November 23, 1963, I was standing on the terrace of the small park on Elm Street to watch the President's motorcade. The President's car had just come up in front of me when I heard a shot and saw the President slump down in the car and heard Mrs. Kennedy say, "Oh, no," then a second shot and then I hit the ground as I realized these were shots. Then all of the people started running up the terrace away from the President's car and I got up and started running also, not realizing what had happened. In just a few moments the President's car sped off and everyone was just running around towards the railroad tracks and I knew that they had somebody trapped up there.
These three men were of slender build and seemed to be very excited in talking and motioning to each other. They went on across the Houston Street Viaduct and I turned off at Marsalis Street exit [sic] and they continued on going towards Zangs Blvd. They were in a 1961 or 1962 Chevrolet sedan, maroon in color. I [cross-out] don't believe I could identify these men, but I do believe I could identify the automobile if I saw it again.
/s/ Malcolm Summers
jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/summers.htm
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He said “all of the people” started running up to the GK area and then he did too. He thought they had someone trapped, but like the man trapped behind the Texaco he got away. He mentions three suspicious men here. Why was the WC NOT more interested in what he had to say?
Again, we see there is AMPLE evidence SHOWING more people thought the shots came from the GK area and NOT the TSBD as the WC claimed. I admit, shots could have come from the TSBD, but probably from the WESTERN side of it. Between this post and the THREE previous posts you have a lot of witnesses who said the shots did NOT come from the TSBD from what they heard.
Once again, the evidence in the WC’s OWN twenty-six volumes sink their conclusion.
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The Warren Commission (WC) said all three shots fired at the presidential limousine came from the Texas School Book Depository (TSBD) and nowhere else, but the evidence in their own twenty-six volumes shows this to be INCORRECT. As we have seen in previous posts in this series numerous witnesses said they believed the shots came from the Grassy Knoll (GK) area or the western part of Dealey Plaza (DP).
This post will show us even more witnesses who believed the shots came from somewhere other than the TSBD.
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Keep this photograph in mind when reading about the direction of shots.
historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh17/html/WH_Vol17_0461b.htm
Victoria Adams is discussed often in this case regarding her time on the stairs of the TSBD, but she is less mentioned in regards to the location of the shots. She was inside the TSBD when the motorcade came and the shots rang out. She was on the fourth floor.
Mr. BELIN - Where were you when the motorcade passed?
Miss ADAMS - I was at the----
Mr. BELIN - Were you inside or outside the building?
Miss ADAMS - I was inside the building.
Mr. BELIN - What floor?
Miss ADAMS - Fourth floor.
Mr. BELIN - Did you watch the motorcade through a window?
Miss ADAMS - Yes, sir.
Mr. BELIN - Now, of that third pair, from the east side, would it have been the east window or the west window?
Miss ADAMS - The west window.
Mr. BELIN - So another way, if you don't count in pairs, but count in single units from the east side, you would have been in the sixth window from your left as you were facing out the window, is that correct?
Miss ADAMS - That's right.
So we have her location in the building now. She was watching with others including Sandra Styles who would be on the stairs with her at the time Lee Harvey Oswald (LHO) was supposedly coming down them. She would say the tree also obstructed her view too.
Miss ADAMS - And from our vantage point we were able to see what the President's wife was wearing, the roses in the car, and things that would attract men's attention. Then we heard---then we were obstructed from the view.
Mr. BELIN - By what?
Miss ADAMS - A tree. and we heard a shot, and it was a pause, and then a second shot, and then a third shot.
It sounded like a firecracker or a cannon at a football game, it seemed as if it came from the right below rather than from the left above. Possibly because of the report. And after the third shot, following that, the third shot, I went to the back of the building down the back stairs, and encountered Bill Shelley and Bill Lovelady on the first floor on the way out to the Houston Street dock.
She said it (a shot) sounded like it came “from the right BELOW rather than from the left ABOVE.” She is clearly saying it did not sound like the shots she heard came from the eastern window of the sixth floor of the TSBD. She would also tell us this interesting bit of news about early reports of where the shots came from via the Dallas Police Department (DPD).
Mr. BELIN - What did you do when you got there?
Miss ADAMS - When I got there, I happened to look around and noticed several of the employees, and I noticed Joe Molina, for one, was standing in front of the building, and also Avery Davis, who works with me, and I said, "What do you think has happened?"
And she said, "I don't know."
And I said, "I want to find out." I think the President is shot.
There was a motorcycle that was parked on the corner of Houston and Elm directly in front of the east end of the building, and I paused-there to listen to the report on the police radio, and they said that shots had been fired which apparently came either from the second floor or the fourth floor window, and so I panicked, as I was at the only open window on the fourth floor.
We see early reports said the shots came from either the SECOND or FOURTH floor! We have seen this before in DPD transcripts. Why did NO one zero on the sixth floor IF that is where the shots came from? We had cops think it was the GK area en masse, we had cops think it was the second floor, the fourth floor, the fifth floor and the roof of the TSBD, but NO one thought it was the sixth floor for sometime. Why?
The WC lawyer tried to save the situation and should be given credit for quick thinking.
Mr. BELIN - Did they say second floor or second floor from the top?
Miss ADAMS - It said second floor. So then I decided maybe I had better go back into the building, and going up the stairs---
Sorry, but she stuck with SECOND FLOOR! She would tell them to that there was a cop on the stairs, but he did NOT stop them from reentering the building and this seems odd if shots had come from there just moments before as claimed.
Mr. BELIN - Now at this time when you went back into the building, were there any policemen standing in front of the building keeping people out?
Miss ADAMS - There was an officer on the stairs itself, and he was prohibiting people from entering the building, that is correct. But I told him I worked there.
Mr. BELIN - Did he let you come back in?
Miss ADAMS - Yes, sir.
Why would this cop let them back in so soon after shots were fired from the building supposedly? We know it was NOT long after too as she was asked about this.
Mr. BELIN - Now trying to reconstruct your actions insofar as the time sequence, which we haven't done, what is your best estimate of the time between the time the shots were fired and the time you got back to the building? How much time elapsed? If you have any estimate. Maybe you don't have one.
Miss ADAMS - I would estimate not more than 5 minutes elapsed.
Again, Belin would try to put doubt into this estimation as it seems odd they would be allowed back in, but again she is pretty firm in this and she tells us she had gone to the RAILROAD tracks!
Mr. BELIN - Is there any particular reason why you make this estimation?
Miss ADAMS - Yes, sir; going down the stairs toward the back, I was running. I ran to the railroad tracks. I moved quickly to the front of the building, paused briefly to talk to someone, listened only to the report of the windows from which the shot supposedly was fired, and returned to the building.
And of course she saw or heard NO one on the stairs LHO was allegedly running down.
Mr. BELIN - You heard no one else running down the stairs?
Miss ADAMS - Correct.
Victoria Adams is another witness who placed the shots near the GK area and NOT the TSBD and she was INSIDE the TSBD too. She also placed them more on street level (or second floor?) rather up high as the WC said.
Another witness is Julia Ann Mercer. She was NOT called before the WC and one has to wonder why not? She did NOT state she heard shots, but she saw a man with what she thought was a rifle get out of truck and move towards the GK area. Here are the relevant portions from her affidavit.
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On November 22, 1963, I was driving a rented White Valient automobile west on Elm Street and was proceeding to the overpass in a westerly direction and at a point about 45 or 50 feet east of the overhead signs of the right entrance road to the overpass, there was a truck parked on the right hand side of the road.
A man was sitting under the wheel of the car and slouched over the wheel. This man had on a green jacket, was a white male and about his 40's and was heavy set. I did not see him too clearly. Another man was at the back of the truck and reached over the tailgate and took out from the truck what appeared to be a gun case. This case was about 8" wide at its widest spot and tapered down to a width of about 4" or 5". It was brown in color. It had a handle and was about 3 1/2 to 4 feet long. The man who took this out of the truck then proceeded to walk away from the truck and he reached down to free it. He then proceeded to walk across the grass and up the grassy hill which forms part of the overpass. This is the last I saw of this man.
The man who took what appeared to be the gun case out of the truck was a white male, who appeared to be in his late 20's or early 30's and he was wearing a grey jacket, brown pants and plaid shirt as best as I can remember. I remember he had on some kind of a hat that looked like a wool stocking hat with a tassell in the middle of it. I believe that I can identify this man if I see him again.
The man who remained in the truck had light brown hair and I believe I could identify him also if I were to see him again.
(signed by) Julia Ann Mercer.
www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh19/html/WH_Vol19_0251a.htm
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Who were these men? Mercer was pretty sure the driver was Jack Ruby as she recognized him from photographs the FBI has shown her on the day of the assassination when he shot LHO on Sunday. As for the younger man we have no idea unfortunately. The point is she did not see this take place near the TSBD.
Lee Bowers also would tell of a location that was NOT the EASTERN side of the TSBD as claimed.
Mr. BALL - Did you hear anything?
Mr. BOWERS - I heard three shots. One, then a slight pause, then two very close together. Also reverberation from the shots.
Mr. BELIN - And were you able to form an opinion as to the source of the sound or what direction it came from, I mean?
Mr. BOWERS - The sounds came either from up against the School Depository Building or near the mouth of the triple underpass.
Mr. BALL - Were you able to tell which?
Mr. BOWERS - No; I could not.
Mr. BALL - Well, now, had you had any experience before being in the tower as to sounds coming from those various places?
Mr. BOWERS - Yes; I had worked this same tower for some 10 or 12 years, and was there during the time they were renovating the School Depository Building, and had noticed at that time the similarity of sounds occurring in either of those two locations.
Mr. BALL - Can you tell me now whether or not it came, the sounds you heard, the three shots came from the direction of the Depository Building or the triple underpass?
Mr. BOWERS - No; I could not.
He couldn’t be 100% sure, but the issue was NOT a choice between the EASTERN window of the sixth floor and the triple underpass, but rather between the triple underpass and “up against” the TSBD (i.e. WESTERN side)! The alleged SN was NEVER in contention in this discussion. Also, he saw two men who seemed suspicious to him and they were NOT near the TSBD.
Mr. BALL - Now, were there any people standing on the high side---high ground between your tower and where Elm Street goes down under the underpass toward the mouth of the underpass?
Mr. BOWERS - Directly in line, towards the mouth of the underpass, there were two men. One man, middle-aged, or slightly older, fairly heavy-set, in a white shirt, fairly dark trousers. Another younger man, about midtwenties, in either a plaid shirt or plaid coat or jacket.
Mr. BALL - Were they standing together or standing separately?
Mr. BOWERS - They were standing within 10 or 15 feet of each other, and gave no appearance of being together, as far as I knew.
Mr. BALL - In what direction were they facing?
Mr. BOWERS - They were facing and looking up towards Main and Houston, and following the caravan as it came down.
Of course Bowers said something in the vicinity of the GK had attracted his attention, but was never allowed to tell us what it was.
Mr. BALL - When you said there was a commotion, what do you mean by that? What did it look like to you when you were looking at the commotion?
Mr. BOWERS - I just am unable to describe rather than it was something out of the ordinary, a sort of milling around, but something occurred in this particular spot which was out of the ordinary, which attracted my eye for some reason, which I could not identify.
Mr. BALL - You couldn't describe it?
Mr. BOWERS - Nothing that I could pinpoint as having happened that---
He was cut off and that was that. Bowers noted one of the men he saw had on a white shirt.
Mr. BOWERS - Directly in line, towards the mouth of the underpass, there were two men. One man, middle-aged, or slightly older, fairly heavy-set, in a white shirt, fairly dark trousers. Another younger man, about midtwenties, in either a plaid shirt or plaid coat or jacket.
Mr. BALL - Were the two men there at the time?
Mr. BOWERS - I--as far as I know, one of them was. The other I could not say. The darker dressed man was too hard to distinguish from the trees. The white shirt, yes; I think he was.
Remember this as our next witness would mention a man in a white shirt too. J.C. Price was NOT called before the WC, but he did give us an affidavit to peruse.
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historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh24/pages/WH_Vol24_0120b.gif
There was a volley of shots, and then much later, maybe as much as five minutes [sic!] later, another one. I saw one man run towards the passenger cars on the railroad siding after the volley of shots. This man had a white dress shirt, no tie and kahki [sic] colored trousers. His hair appeared to be long and dark and his agility running could be about 35 yrs [sic] of age. He had something in his hand. I couldn't be sure but it may have been a head piece.
historymatters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh24/html/WH_Vol24_0120b.htm
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A head piece? Could this have been a transmitter/receiver for the shooting sequence? Notice his mention of the man with the possible head piece wearing a white shirt! Did they see the same man? This is called corroboration and it is something the WC witnesses are sorely lacking.
S.M. Holland is our next witness. As we saw in #123 in this series he too thought the shots came from the GK area and he saw what appeared to be white smoke near the trees.
Mr. STERN - Did you hear a third report?
Mr. HOLLAND - I heard a third report and I counted four shots and about the same time all this was happening, and in this group of trees--[indicating].
Mr. STERN - Now, you are indicating trees on the north side of Elm Street?
Mr. HOLLAND - These trees right along here [indicating].
Mr. STERN - Let's mark this Exhibit C and draw a circle around the trees you are referring to.
Mr. HOLLAND - Right in there. (Indicating.)
There was a shot, a report, I don't know whether it was a shot. I can't say that. And a puff of smoke came out about 6 or 8 feet above the ground right out from under those trees. And at just about this location from where I was standing you could see that puff of smoke, like someone had thrown a firecracker, or something out, and that is just about the way it sounded. It wasn't as loud as the previous reports or shots.
Mr. STERN - So, that it might have been the third or the fourth?
Mr. HOLLAND - It could have been the third or fourth, but there were definitely four reports.
Mr. STERN - You have no doubt about that?
Mr. HOLLAND - I have no doubt about it. I have no doubt about seeing that puff of smoke come out from under those trees either.
He had NO doubt that the smoke he saw came from the trees near the picket fence on the GK. Another witness that is interesting, and does NOT get mentioned much for this topic, is James Tague. Tague was standing under the triple underpass when he was hit by a ricochet from a bullet. The GK was to his left.
Mr. LIEBELER. I understand. Did you have any idea where these shots came from when you heard them ringing out?
Mr. TAGUE. Yes; I thought they were coming from my left.
Mr. LIEBELER. Immediately to your left, or toward the back? Of course, now we have other evidence that would indicate that the shots did come from the Texas School Book Depository, but see if we can disregard that and determine just what you heard when the shots were fired in the first place.
Mr. TAGUE. To recall everything is almost impossible. Just an impression is all I recall, is the fact that my first impression was that up by the, whatever you call the monument, or whatever it was----
Mr. LIEBELER. Up above No. 7?
Mr. TAGUE. That somebody was throwing firecrackers up there, that the police were running up there to see what was going on, and this was my first impression. Somebody was causing a disturbance, that somebody had drawn a gun and was shooting at the crowd, and the police were running up to it. When I saw the people throwing themselves on the ground is when I realized there was serious trouble, and I believe that was after the third shot was fired.
Mr. LIEBELER. Did you look up near the railroad tracks in that area after you heard the shots?
Mr. TAGUE. I looked all around. I looked at the complete area to try to find out where the disturbance was. And for some reason, after the third shot, I believe I ducked down back in here.
Perhaps the reason he is NOT mentioned in this topic more is for all his reasons above he towed the line when it came to the final destination.
Mr. LIEBELER. The car immediately behind the President. Did you see any evidence of anybody having fired from the area on the railroad tracks above the triple underpass?
Mr. TAGUE. None.
Mr. LIEBELER. Do you think that it is consistent with what you heard and saw that day, that the shots could have come from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository?
Mr. TAGUE. Yes.
Of course he is biased in the sense he was hit by a ricochet and that could NOT have come from the GK area! What was left out of the question was if he thought the shots could have come from the WESTERN side of the TSBD!
I have quoted the next witness numerous times saying he thought the shots came from BEHIND him and he was on the concrete abutment! Here is what Abraham Zapruder said before the WC.
Mr. LIEBELER - You didn't hear any shot after you saw him hit?
Mr. ZAPRUDER - I heard the second--after the first shot--I saw him leaning over and after the second shot--it's possible after what I saw, you know, then I started yelling, "They killed him, they killed him," and I just felt that somebody had ganged up on him and I was still shooting the pictures until he got under the underpass--I don't even know how I did it. And then, I didn't even remember how I got down from that abutment there, but there I was, I guess, and I was walking toward--back toward my office and screaming, "They killed him, they killed him," and the people that I met on the way didn't even know what happened and they kept yelling, "What happened, what happened, what happened?" It seemed that they had heard a shot but they didn't know exactly what had happened as the car sped away, and I kept on just yelling, "They killed him, they killed him, they killed him," and finally got to my office and my secretary--I told her to call the police or the Secret Service--I don't know what she was doing, and that's about all. I was very much upset. Naturally, I couldn't imagine such a thing being done. I just went to my desk and stopped there until the police came and then we were required to get a place to develop the films. I knew I had something, I figured it might be of some help--I didn't know what.
As to what happened--I remember the police were running behind me. There were police running right behind me. Of course, they didn't realize yet, I guess, where the shot came from--that it came from that height.
Mr. LIEBELER - As you were standing on this abutment facing Elm street, you say the police ran over behind the concrete structure behind you and down the railroad track behind that, is that right?
Mr. ZAPRUDER - After the shots?
Mr. LIEBELER - Yes.
Mr. ZAPRUDER - Yes--after the shots--yes, some of them were motorcycle cops--I guess they left their motorcycles running and they were running right behind me, of course, in the line of the shooting. I guess they thought it came from right behind me.
Mr. LIEBELER - Did you have any impression as to the direction from which these shots came?
Mr. ZAPRUDER - No, I also thought it came from back of me. Of course, you can't tell when something is in line it could come from anywhere, but being I was here and he was hit on this line and he was hit right in the head--I saw it right around here, so it looked like it came from here and it could come from there.
Mr. LIEBELER - All right, as you stood here on the abutment and looked down into Elm Street, you saw the President hit on the right side of the head and you thought perhaps the shots had come from behind you?
Mr. ZAPRUDER - Well, yes.
Mr. LIEBELER - From the direction behind you?
Mr. ZAPRUDER - Yes, actually--I couldn't say what I thought at the moment, where they came from--after the impact of the tragedy was really what I saw and I started and I said--yelling, "They've killed him"--I assumed that they came from there, because as the police started running back of me, it looked like it came from the back of me.
Clearly he thought the shots originated from BEHIND him in the GK area. Another interesting witness is SS Agent Forrest Sorrels. Here is what he said.
Mr. STERN - When you looked at the terrace to the right of Elm Street, did you observe any unusual movement?
Mr. SORRELS - No; I didn't see anything unusual at that time.
Mr. STERN - But you didn't observe anything that led you to feel that the shots might have been fired from that terrace there?
Mr. SORRELS - No, sir.
Mr. STERN - It sounded to you at first as though it came from there?
Mr. SORRELS - That is the way it sounded--back into the rear and to the right, back up in that direction. And in the direction, of course, of the building.
But the reports seemed to be so loud, that it sounded like to me in other words, that was my first thought, somebody up on the terrace, and that is the reason I looked there.
The WC would of course have him agree the shots could have come from the TSBD as they claimed, but this is an interesting comment by him.
Mr. STERN - Now, did you recognize it at the time as a shot?
Mr. SORRELS - I felt it was, because it was too sharp for a backfire of an automobile. And, to me, it appeared a little bit too loud for a firecracker.
I just said, "What's that?" And turned around to look up on this terrace part there, because the sound sounded like it came from the back and up in that direction.
At that time, I did not look back up to the building, because it was way back in the back.
His initial reaction (meaning before he was TOLD what happened by the WC, FBI and DPD) was that the shot he first heard came from the “terrace” area. This was part of the GK, NOT the TSBD.
William Newman was another witness who placed the shots in the GK area. Needless to say, he was NOT called by the WC, but did give us this affidavit. Here is the relevant portion for this post.
grandsubversion.com/jfkAssassination/nobotimg/dlspt1/conspiracy%20theories%20jfk%20assassination%20eye%20witness%20photo%20kennedy%20shots%20fired.jpg
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I thought the shot had come from the garden directly behind me, that it was on an elevation from where I was as I was right on the curb. I do not recall looking toward the Texas School Book Depository. I looked back in the vacinity [sic] of the garden.
/s/ William E. Newman, Jr.
jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/wnewman.htm
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He is clearly saying he thought the shots came from the GK area. He did NOT even think of looking in the direction of the TSBD (and we saw many witnesses say this in the earlier posts) as he did NOT think the shots came from there. He was called to the stand in the Shaw trial and here is his exchange on this topic.
Q: How many shots did you hear?
A: I heard at least three. I often thought of four, but I can't clearly say there were four shots; I can clearly say there were three.
Q: Do you have any impression as to the direction from which the shots came?
A: Yes, sir. From the sound of the shots, the report of the rifle or whatever it was, it sounded like they were coming directly behind from where I was standing.
Q: Now would you push the microphone aside and step down to the aerial photograph and identify that general area, just the general area from which the sounds came.
A: In my opinion, the sounds of the shots sounded as if they had come from directly behind me (indicating). I was standing near this light standard here, and I thought the shots were coming from back here, and apparently everybody else did because they all ran in that direction.
Police Officer L.C. Smith also thought the shots came from the GK area. He was NOT called by the WC, but did fill out a Sheriff’s report on the issue.
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I knew then that this was gun shots and everyone else did also. I ran as fast as I could to Elm Street just West of Houston and I heard a woman unknown to me say the President was shot, in the head and the shots came from the fence on the North side of Elm. I went at one behind the fence and searched also in the parking area. Then came word that the shot was thought to have come from the Texas Book Depository Bldg., on the corner of Elm and Houston.
When I arrived there they were bringing in hand lights to search out the top floor. I helped search the 5, 6, and 7th floors.
jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/smith_lc.htm
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He sent word that the shots were thought to have come from the TSBD when nearly every cop and law enforcement person in the plaza went to the GK area? Notice too how they searched MULTIPLE FLOORS of the TSBD.
Malcolm Summers also said he thought the shots came from the GK area. Needless to say, he too was NOT called by the WC, but did give us an affidavit to read.
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Yesterday, November 23, 1963, I was standing on the terrace of the small park on Elm Street to watch the President's motorcade. The President's car had just come up in front of me when I heard a shot and saw the President slump down in the car and heard Mrs. Kennedy say, "Oh, no," then a second shot and then I hit the ground as I realized these were shots. Then all of the people started running up the terrace away from the President's car and I got up and started running also, not realizing what had happened. In just a few moments the President's car sped off and everyone was just running around towards the railroad tracks and I knew that they had somebody trapped up there.
These three men were of slender build and seemed to be very excited in talking and motioning to each other. They went on across the Houston Street Viaduct and I turned off at Marsalis Street exit [sic] and they continued on going towards Zangs Blvd. They were in a 1961 or 1962 Chevrolet sedan, maroon in color. I [cross-out] don't believe I could identify these men, but I do believe I could identify the automobile if I saw it again.
/s/ Malcolm Summers
jfkassassination.net/russ/testimony/summers.htm
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He said “all of the people” started running up to the GK area and then he did too. He thought they had someone trapped, but like the man trapped behind the Texaco he got away. He mentions three suspicious men here. Why was the WC NOT more interested in what he had to say?
Again, we see there is AMPLE evidence SHOWING more people thought the shots came from the GK area and NOT the TSBD as the WC claimed. I admit, shots could have come from the TSBD, but probably from the WESTERN side of it. Between this post and the THREE previous posts you have a lot of witnesses who said the shots did NOT come from the TSBD from what they heard.
Once again, the evidence in the WC’s OWN twenty-six volumes sink their conclusion.