he Warren Commission concluded that a single bullet struck President Kennedy in the back, exited through his throat, then wounded Governor Connally in the back, wrist, and thigh — changing direction multiple times in mid-air. Seven wounds. One bullet. Zero physics.
The Warren Commission's Report, released in September 1964, presented what has become known as the "magic bullet theory" — officially called the Single Bullet Theory. According to this conclusion, Commission Exhibit 399, a nearly pristine bullet, caused seven separate wounds across two men.
The bullet allegedly entered Kennedy's back at a downward angle of 17 degrees, exited through his throat, then somehow changed trajectory to strike Governor Connally in the back at a different angle, shattered his fifth rib, exited his chest, passed through his right wrist, and lodged in his left thigh.
Forensic scientists and ballistics experts have repeatedly challenged this finding. Dr. Cyril Wecht, former president of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, has called it "the most absurd, preposterous, logically impossible theory ever advanced by a government agency." The bullet recovered from Connally's stretcher showed minimal deformation — inconsistent with the damage it allegedly caused.
The House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded in 1979 that there were "probably four shots" and that Kennedy was "probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy." The FBI's own acoustic analysis supported the existence of a second gunman on the grassy knoll.
61% of Americans, according to a 2017 Gallup poll, still do not believe Oswald acted alone.