Kennedy was shot and murdered on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas. He was the youngest American President to die in office. The President was assassinated as he was riding in a limousine down Elm Street right outside downtown Dallas. In the car with the President were his wife, John Connally and two secret service agents that were seated in the two front seats (Wickner, 63). Shortly after the shots rang out, President Kennedy grabbed his throat and chest. About a half a second after the President was shot, Connally showed obvious signs that he had been wounded as well. (Griffith, 2). Because all of these events happened in a very short time span, witnesses were very dazed and confused. As soon as the driver realized the President was in danger, however, he sped off to Parkland Hospital (Wickner, 63). Despite the tedious efforts of many medical personal, President Kennedy was pronounced dead shortly after the car pulled into Parkland. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn into office a short time later. .
There are two basic views on JFK's assassination: the lone gunmen theory, or the conspiracy theory (Posner, 93). The Warren Commission was established to investigate the death of the President shortly after his death. It argued that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, and that there were positively no ties or influences associated with him (Posner, 93). Investigators placed him on the sixth floor of a nearby building at the time of the shooting. He was also believed to have hit the President two times out of the three that he fired with a rifle (Posner, 93). Many witness testimonies also favor the lone gunmen theory. The Warren Commission Report states:.
"Passengers in the first few cars of the motorcade had the impression that the shots came from the rear and from the right, the general direction of the Texas School Book Depository Building, although none of these passengers saw anyone fire the shots.