Part 1392 of my "JFK Assassination Arguments" series includes a variety of my posts and comments covering the period of September 1—30, 2025. To read the entire forum discussion from which my own comments have been extracted, click on the "Full Discussion" logo at the bottom of each individual segment.
GREG DOUDNA SAID THIS.
DAVID VON PEIN SAID:
Oswald probably realized that if he had taken a shot while the limousine was on Houston Street, all of the Secret Service men and motorcycle officers would have been facing the TSBD window, and as such, with just a tilt of their heads, Oswald could have been easily observed firing the fatal shots, and return gunfire by the authorities could possibly have been accomplished very rapidly.
But by waiting until the President's car turned onto Elm Street, Oswald knew that most of the armed security people surrounding JFK (policemen and SS agents) would have their backs to the assassin and would not have their eyes focused in Oswald's direction at all, thus making quick return fire much more difficult and awkward.
Plus, waiting until the cars were on Elm had another advantage for Oswald too --- that being: there was literally no escape route for the President. No side streets to veer off to. The limo was forced to keep moving straight ahead toward the Underpass, thus keeping the President in Oswald's sights for even a longer period of time.
If the shooting had begun on Houston Street, limo driver Bill Greer had the option of proceeding straight ahead on Houston and out of the line of direct fire coming from the south-side Depository windows.
Therefore, when weighing the various options as to when to start shooting at President Kennedy with a rifle from the Book Depository Building (in order to maximize the assassin's chances for success), it seems to me that Lee Oswald's decision to wait until the cars had turned onto Elm Street was by far the best choice.
David Von Pein
September 1, 2025
