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Sniper Target Tracking Analysis of John F. Kennedy Assassination

Nicholas R. Nalli


Abstract: US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by a sniper while riding in an open limousine in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963. Although official investigations established that three shots were fired from a sniper’s nest in the Texas School Book Depository, a complete reconstruction of the sequence of shots was not thoroughly established. Subsequent research has led to a consensus that the first shot missed, but a complete explanation has eluded investigators. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the sniper targeting effort, including the advantages of the sniper’s nest and eventual marksmanship difficulty. It is quantitatively shown that the three-dimensional target tracking was significantly reduced as the motorcade proceeded away from the sniper’s nest. The reduction in apparent motion of the target correlates with the increasing accuracy of the three shots, suggesting this variable plausibly factored into the enigmatic hit-and-miss pattern.


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