Editing Single-bullet theory (section)

==Number and sequence of the shots==
Within minutes after the shots rang out in [[Dealey Plaza]] in downtown [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], at 12:30&nbsp;p.m. on November 22, 1963, sources began reporting that three shots had been fired at the President's [[motorcade]]. At 12:34&nbsp;p.m., approximately four minutes after the shots were fired, the first [[wire story]] flashed around the world:

<blockquote>DALLAS NOV. 22 (UPI) -- THREE SHOTS WERE FIRED AT PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S MOTORCADE TODAY IN DOWNTOWN
DALLAS. JT1234PCS<ref>[http://www.dufourlaw.com/JFK/Upi-telex1234.jpg United Press International wire report], issued November 22, 1963, 12:34 pm CST. An original [[teleprinter]] copy of this is in the [[Sixth Floor Museum]], Dallas, Texas</ref></blockquote>

This report had been transmitted by United Press International (UPI) reporter [[Merriman Smith]] from a radio telephone located in the front seat of the press car in the Presidential motorcade, six cars behind the President's limousine. Smith's communication with the Dallas UPI office was made less than a minute after the shots were heard, as his car entered the Stemmons freeway en route to Dallas' [[Parkland Memorial Hospital]].<ref>Merriman Smith, "Eyewitness—The death of President Kennedy", UPI story, November 23, 1963.</ref><ref>''Pictures of the Pain: Photography and the Assassination of President Kennedy'', Richard B. Trask (Danvers, Mass.: Yeoman Press, 1994), p. 392.</ref>

Merriman Smith's dispatch was the first of many reports. Photographers Robert Jackson and Tom Dillard riding in a car in the motorcade heard three shots.<ref>Warren Commission Hearings, [http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh2/html/WC_Vol2_0084a.htm Jackson: 2 H 159].</ref><ref>Warren Commission Hearings, [http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh6/html/WC_Vol6_0087b.htm Dillard: 6 H 164].</ref> ''[[The Dallas Morning News]]'' reporter Mary Woodward described hearing three shots as she stood in front of the Texas School Book Depository.<ref>Mary E. Woodward, "[http://www.dufourlaw.com/jfk/Woodward_11-22-63_0001a.gif Witness from the News Describes Assassination]", ''[[The Dallas Morning News]]'', November 23, 1963.</ref>

There has been some controversy regarding the number of shots fired during the assassination. The Warren Commission concluded that three shots were fired.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wr/html/WCReport_0068a.htm |title=WC Report, 111 |publisher=History-matters.com |access-date=August 3, 2010}}</ref> The vast majority of witnesses{{citation needed|date=September 2023}} claim to have heard three, but there are some witnesses who could recall only one or two shots. A few witnesses thought there were four or more shots. Of 178 witnesses whose evidence was compiled by the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), 132 reported hearing exactly three shots, 17 recalled hearing two, 7 said they heard two or three shots (total: 88%). A total of 6 people said they thought they heard four shots, and 9 said they were not sure how many shots they heard. Another 7 people said they thought they heard 1, 5, 6, or 8 shots.<ref>D. M. Green, "Analysis of Earwitness Reports Relating to the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy", Report No. 4034, 8 HSCA 128 at 142 [http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol8/html/HSCA_Vol8_0073b.htm]</ref>

Governor Connally, riding in the middle [[jump seat]] of the President's limousine in front of the President, recalled hearing the first shot which he immediately recognized as a rifle shot. He said he immediately feared an assassination attempt and turned to his right to look back to see the President. He looked over his right shoulder but did not catch the President out of the corner of his eye so he said he began to turn back to look to his left when he felt a forceful impact to his back. He stated to the Warren Commission: "I immediately, when I was hit, I said, 'Oh, no, no, no.' And then I said, 'My God, they are going to kill us all.'" He looked down and saw that his chest was covered with blood and thought he had been fatally shot. Then he heard the third and final shot, which sprayed blood and brain tissue over them.<ref>Warren Commission Hearings, [http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh4/html/WC_Vol4_0069a.htm 4 H 133].</ref>

[[Nellie Connally]] said she heard the first shot and saw President Kennedy with his hands at his neck reacting to what she later realized was his neck wound. After the first shot, she heard her husband yell, "Oh, no, no, no" and turn to his right, away from her. Then she heard a second shot, which hit her husband. She saw him recoil away from her and saw that he was hit. She immediately reached over and pulled him toward her into her arms and lay backward. Then she heard the third and final shot. Mrs. Connally said she never looked into the back seat of the car after her husband was shot.<ref>Warren Commission Hearings, [http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh4/html/WC_Vol4_0078a.htm].</ref>

According to the single-bullet theory, one shot passed through President Kennedy's neck and caused all of Governor Connally's wounds (he was wounded in the chest, right wrist, and left thigh), and one of the shots must have missed the limousine entirely. The Connallys never accepted the theory. While they agreed with the Warren Commission's conclusion that Oswald acted alone, they insisted that all three shots struck occupants of the limousine.<ref>"A Matter of Reasonable Doubt", ''Life'' magazine, Vol 61, No. 22, November 25, 1966.</ref>