10 Possible Reasons JFK’s Assassination Could Have Been Unintentional

The killing of John F. Kennedy stands as one of the most disputed incidents in modern history. Although the prevailing belief is that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, countless conspiracy theories have emerged about that tragic day in Dealey Plaza. However, what if the President’s death was actually a tragic mishap? Initially proposed by ballistics expert Howard Donahue, a compelling theory suggests that after Oswald fired at the motorcade, a Secret Service agent, in a state of panic, accidentally fired his weapon, delivering the fatal shot.

This compilation does not aim to implicate anyone other than Lee Harvey Oswald in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Donahue’s hypothesis remains just that—a hypothesis. The following analysis simply explores the evidence supporting (and challenging) one of the most intriguing “What If” scenarios in American history.

10. Numerous Witnesses Reported the Final Two Shots Occurred Almost Simultaneously

Oswald utilized a bolt-action Carcano rifle, which necessitates four movements by the shooter after each shot to eject the spent cartridge and load the next round. According to the Warren Commission, the shortest possible time to fire the rifle, cycle the bolt once, and fire again was 2.3 seconds. The prevailing theory suggests Oswald fired three shots, with one missing, requiring him to cycle the bolt twice. Analyzing the Zapruder Film, the Commission determined that the two shots that struck Kennedy were fired 4.8–5.6 seconds apart.

If the second shot missed, all three bullets would have been fired within that timeframe. However, if the first or third shot missed, the total time for all three shots increases to 7.1–7.9 seconds. While neither scenario is implausible, accurately firing within 4.8–5.6 seconds at a moving target would be exceptionally challenging.

The Warren Commission’s calculations are only relevant if the shots are presumed to have occurred at regular intervals. If the final two shots were nearly simultaneous, a single bolt-action rifle could not have fired both. Intriguingly, some witness accounts appear to support this possibility. Notably, Secret Service agent Bill Greer, the driver of the Presidential limousine, was asked: “How much time elapsed, to the best of your ability to estimate and recollect, between the time of the second noise and the time of the third noise?”

Greer responded: “The last two seemed to be almost simultaneous, one right after the other, but I can’t recall exactly how many seconds were between them. I couldn’t say for sure.”

District Clerk James Crawford, who was positioned at the intersection of Elm and Houston streets during the shooting, recounted: “As I watched the parade, I believe there was a lead car ahead of the President’s vehicle, followed by the President’s car, and then, I assume, the Vice President’s car, trailed by a yellow closed sedan carrying the Secret Service. The sedan’s doors were open. After the Secret Service sedan turned the corner, I heard the first report, initially mistaking it for a car backfire. Upon reflection, it couldn’t have been a backfire, as it would have had to come from the President’s car or another vehicle in the procession. The second shot came a few seconds later, followed almost immediately by the third. I couldn’t see the President’s car at that moment.”

Deputy Sheriff Roger Craig was positioned in front of the Sheriff’s Office on Houston Street, having observed the motorcade pass by and turn onto Elm. Once the vehicles were out of view, Craig heard three gunshots and immediately ran toward the scene. Below is an excerpt from his testimony, recorded by Commission staffer David Belin:

BELIN: Approximately how much time elapsed between these noises? CRAIG: The first one had a gap of about two or three seconds. BELIN: Two or three seconds between the first and the second? CRAIG: There was a noticeable pause. It might have been slightly longer. BELIN: And what about the time between the second and third? CRAIG: Less than two seconds. They were extremely close together.

This testimony doesn’t definitively rule out Oswald as the lone shooter. However, it introduces an intriguing possibility—if the second and third shots were fired almost simultaneously, could one of them have been fired by someone other than Oswald?

9. George Hickey Was The Sole Secret Service Agent Carrying A Rifle

On the day of the assassination, 12 Secret Service agents were tasked with protecting Kennedy. Special Agent in Charge Roy Kellermann occupied the front passenger seat of the Presidential limousine, while Special Agent Bill Greer was behind the wheel. Win Lawson and Verne Sorrels were in the lead car, and Agent Sam Kinney drove the follow-up vehicle, with the President’s limousine positioned between them. The rear vehicle also carried Special Agent Emory Roberts in the front passenger seat, George Hickey in the left rear seat, and Glen Bennett in the right rear seat. Special Agents Clint Hill, Tim McIntyre, Jack Ready, and Paul Landis stood on the running boards of the rear vehicle.

The lead car was a hardtop, while the other two vehicles were convertibles with their tops retracted. Each agent carried a 4-inch-barreled revolver. Following standard protocol, one agent, Hickey, was additionally equipped with an AR-15 rifle. Therefore, if Oswald did not fire the fatal shot, Hickey’s rifle would have been the only other firearm in play.

8. Hickey Did Bring The Rifle Into Play During The Shooting

Hugh W. Betzner, Jr., a witness positioned at the intersection of Elm and Houston as the motorcade turned left onto Elm, stated: “I also noticed a man in either the President’s car or the vehicle behind it, and someone inside one of those cars pulled out what appeared to be a rifle.” Betzner also mentioned seeing a “flash of pink” somewhere in the motorcade, which some have interpreted as a muzzle flash. This flash could have originated from Hickey’s rifle or any of the agents’ handguns, though an AR-15 produces a far more visible flash. However, it is more plausible that the “flash of pink” referred to Jackie Kennedy, dressed in pink, reaching out to Special Agent Clint Hill, who had leaped from the rear car onto the back of the Presidential limousine. Betzner specifically described the flash as resembling “someone standing up and then sitting back down,” making the muzzle flash theory seem unlikely.

Hickey himself supported Betzner’s account, testifying: “After the final shot, I reached down into the car, retrieved the AR-15 rifle, cocked and loaded it, and turned toward the rear. By this point, the vehicles were passing under the overpass, and we had left the scene of the shooting. I kept the AR-15 ready as we sped toward the hospital.”

7. Hickey’s Rifle, But Possibly Not Oswald’s, Could Have Caused JFK’s Fatal Head Injury

Oswald used a 6.5 x 52mm Carcano M91/38 rifle loaded with full metal jacket ammunition. This type of ammunition is designed for penetration rather than creating large wound cavities. The Hague Convention prohibits the use of hollow-point or expanding ammunition in warfare, though it is commonly used in hunting, law enforcement, and civilian self-defense. Hollow-point bullets expand upon impact, causing more severe internal damage compared to full metal jacket rounds.

In his analysis of the assassination, Howard Donahue argued that the explosive impact visible in the Zapruder film could not have been caused by Oswald’s full metal jacket bullets. However, the hollow-point ammunition from Hickey’s AR-15, positioned behind and to the left of the President, could have been responsible. Donahue also noted that a bullet fragment seen in X-rays of Kennedy’s skull was unlikely to have come from Oswald’s rifle, as full metal jacket bullets typically do not fragment upon impact. Instead, Donahue proposed that Kennedy’s death might have been a tragic accident. According to his theory, Oswald’s first shot struck the President, causing serious but non-lethal injuries. In the chaos following the shooting, Hickey grabbed the AR-15 but, unfamiliar with the weapon and startled by the car’s abrupt stop, accidentally fired the rifle, resulting in Kennedy’s fatal head wound. The shorter distance between Hickey and Kennedy meant the bullet would have struck at a much higher velocity than one from Oswald’s Carcano, compensating for the AR-15’s lighter bullet weight.

6. Eyewitness Jean Hill Observed Men In The Motorcade Returning Fire

Jean Hill is clearly visible in the Zapruder Film as a woman wearing a full-length red outfit, positioned near Elm Street as Kennedy’s limousine drives by. The car momentarily disappears behind a road sign. As Kennedy reappears, he is struck in the upper back, raising his arms to his throat before leaning left toward Jackie. Texas Governor John Connally reacts to being hit by the same bullet, turning left to look at Kennedy. The vehicle then passes Jean Hill and Mary Moorman, who stands to her left in a dark dress. Shortly after the film moves past them, Kennedy is hit in the head.

In her written testimony, Hill stated: “Just as the President glanced toward us, two shots were fired, and I saw him clutch his chest and collapse onto Jackie’s lap. She leaned over him, exclaiming, ‘My God, he has been shot.’ There was a brief pause after the first two shots, and the motorcade seemed to stop momentarily. Then, three or four more shots were fired, and the motorcade sped away. I thought I saw men in plain clothes firing back, but everything was chaotic, and Mary was tugging at my leg, shouting, ‘Get down, they’re shooting.’”

Some have suggested that the return fire Hill believed she witnessed could have been George Hickey accidentally firing his rifle.

5. Rumors Suggested The Secret Service Detail Had Been Drinking The Night Before

The evening before the assassination, several Secret Service agents assigned to protect the President visited a Fort Worth nightclub known as the Cellar Coffee House. The establishment lacked a liquor license, and the agents reportedly consumed only fruit-based beverages, some containing “non-alcoholic rum flavoring.” Additionally, nine agents attended a reception at the Fort Worth Press Club where alcohol was served. Testimony later revealed that none of the agents consumed more than one cocktail or three beers.

Columnist Drew Pearson later asserted that at least one Secret Service agent appeared visibly drunk at the Press Club reception. In his widely circulated column, Pearson claimed the agents had been drinking until 3:00 AM at the Press Club before moving on to the Cellar Coffee House, which he described as a “beatnik hangout.” These allegations were vehemently denied by the Secret Service and Calvin Sutton, an editor at the Morning Star-Telegram and the event’s host. Sutton admitted to keeping the Press Club open past its scheduled 12:00 AM closing time. At 2:00 AM, as the final guests departed, a group of four Secret Service agents arrived. Sutton instructed the bartender to serve them one drink each before they left. Sutton maintained that he was unaware of any agent consuming more than one or two drinks in total, though he conceded he couldn’t always distinguish Secret Service personnel from other White House staff at the event. Other witnesses also testified that they observed no agents who seemed noticeably intoxicated.

Pearson’s article has occasionally been cited to suggest that some Secret Service agents may have been hungover on the day of the assassination, potentially impairing their judgment. However, while Pearson’s claims cannot be entirely dismissed, they remain uncorroborated and appear improbable. As with many aspects of the assassination, the truth may never be fully known.

4. The Enigmatic Postmortem Examination

Following the assassination, Kennedy was quickly transported to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he was declared deceased. Texas law mandated that the President’s body remain at the hospital until a complete autopsy was conducted. Despite this, the Secret Service bypassed the regulation, swiftly moving the body to the airport and onto Air Force One. Dr. Charles Crenshaw, a physician at Parkland, recounted a tense standoff between Secret Service agents and Dallas Chief of Forensic Pathology Earl Rose, with agents brandishing their firearms. Anthony Summers, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, suggested that weapons were drawn, and Dr. Rose and others were pushed against a wall as the body was removed, a detail Crenshaw did not confirm.

The President’s remains were then transported to Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland for the autopsy. Secret Service agents Roy Kellerman, William Greer, and John O’Leary oversaw the procedure. Supporters of the conspiracy theory argue that the Secret Service may have been concealing crucial evidence, such as the bullet’s trajectory through Kennedy’s skull. An autopsy conducted in Texas, outside their control, could have definitively established the bullet’s path and angle of entry.

What could have motivated the Secret Service to prevent Parkland Memorial Hospital’s skilled surgeons from conducting the autopsy? How does an autopsy by Dallas experts differ from one performed by equally qualified professionals elsewhere?

3. Oswald’s Location and the Trajectory of the Fatal Shot

The Warren Commission calculated the distances from Oswald’s sniper perch in the Book Depository to Kennedy’s position in the limousine as 53 meters (175 ft), 75 meters (240 ft), and 80 meters (265 ft) for the three shots fired. The final shot, widely believed to be the fatal headshot, is described by the HSCA as entering Kennedy’s skull 10 centimeters (3.9 in) above the external occipital protuberance and 1.8 cm (0.7 in) to the right of the midline. The exit wound was located 11 cm (4.3 in) forward of the entry point, 1 cm (0.4 in) lower, and 5.6 cm (2.2 in) to the right of the midline, near the right temple. From Oswald’s vantage point on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository, this raises questions about his ability to deliver the headshot. A computer-generated trajectory line through the two wounds points toward the Dal-Tex Building, situated behind the Depository.

While this doesn’t conclusively prove or disprove anything, given the challenge of pinpointing the President’s head position, it opens the possibility that Hickey’s rifle could have fired the shot. Oswald’s rifle remains a potential source as well. The theory of a shooter on the grassy knoll seems less plausible, as the exit wound at the back of Kennedy’s head would likely have been larger and more irregular.

2. Numerous Witnesses Reported the Scent of Gunpowder at Ground Level

Seven or more individuals testified to detecting the distinct odor of gunpowder at street level right after the shooting occurred.

Billy Martin, a Dallas police officer, was riding his motorcycle directly behind the left rear fender of the Presidential limousine during the incident. He later recounted: “The smell of gunpowder was unmistakable... It was clear the shooter was nearby. At such close proximity, the burning powder was evident... The scent of gunpowder lingered... right there on the street.”

Senator Ralph Yarborough, who was in the second convertible with Vice President Johnson, also noted: “I could distinctly smell the gunpowder from the assassin’s weapon.”

Elizabeth Cabell testified that she was in the third or fourth vehicle trailing the President’s limousine when the shots were fired. She recalled: “In a split second, I glanced up and noticed something in the window. I turned to Earle and began to say, ‘Earle, that was a shot,’ but before I could finish, he responded, ‘Oh, no; it must have been a...’ Then the next two shots echoed. After that, my memory becomes hazy, but I distinctly remember the strong scent of gunpowder.”

Tom Dillard, a press photographer, was positioned far behind the Presidential limousine. As the shooting occurred, his car was still approaching the Texas School Book Depository Building, directly facing Oswald’s sniper nest. He stated: “I clearly detected the smell of gunpowder as our vehicle reached the corner.”

Virgie Rackley, a bystander near the street in front of the Depository Building, smelled gunsmoke immediately after the second shot.

Earle Brown, a police officer stationed atop the overpass where the motorcade passed after the shooting, was looking north toward Dealey Plaza and the Depository Building. In his testimony, he mentioned: “I heard the shots and then caught the scent of gunpowder... It hit me a couple of minutes later—at least that’s how it seemed to me.” Officer Joe Smith also noted, “a distinct smell of gun smoke, like cordite,” as he rode along Elm Street.

The House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) reported that measurements taken at Love Field, 8.5 kilometers (5.3 mi) from Dealey Plaza, indicated the wind was blowing at 24–32 kilometers per hour (15–20 mph) from the west-northwest on the day of the assassination.

1. The Nature of Kennedy’s Injuries

A detail often highlighted by conspiracy theorists is the six-millimeter entrance wound on the back of Kennedy’s head—smaller than the 6.8-millimeter diameter of Oswald’s 6.5mm Carcano bullets. How could a bullet create a hole smaller than itself? The Warren Commission explained: “The 6-millimeter measurement, slightly smaller than the bullet’s diameter, resulted from the skull’s elastic recoil, which contracts the opening after the bullet passes through.”

This explanation is scientifically sound. The scalp, being fluid-filled, can indent slightly upon impact. When pressed against a rigid structure like bone, the entrance wound may appear smaller than the bullet’s diameter due to the skin bending inward. Additionally, the human skull possesses elasticity, capable of withstanding 15–25 gigapascals of pressure. This elasticity determines how much the skull can deform before fracturing. At 10 GPa, the skull would deform but likely remain intact.

When a high-velocity bullet strikes, the increased pressure typically shatters the skull into fragments. The brain absorbs the internal damage, while the scalp may keep the outer skull intact. The Warren Commission’s reasoning for the wound’s size is logical, though it’s important to note that the measurement was taken from the scalp’s exterior. No data exists on whether the interior of Kennedy’s skull was examined.

Hickey’s weapon was an AR-15 chambered in 5.56mm NATO, with bullets measuring 5.7 millimeters in diameter. Such a bullet could easily create a wound only marginally larger than its own size in a human skull. While this doesn’t confirm Hickey as the shooter, it neither disproves the theory nor provides more evidence against Oswald’s involvement.