President Kennedy shot in Dallas

AP Photographer James W. Altgens said he saw blood on the president's head.

Altgens said he heard two shots but thought someone was shooting fireworks until he saw the blood on the President.

Altgens said he saw no one with a gun.

AP Reporter Jack Bell asked Kenneth O'Donnell, President Assistant, if Kennedy was dead. O'Donnell gave no answer.

Kennedy was reported taken to Parkland Hospital, near the Dallas Trade Mart, where he was to have made a speech.

Bell reported three shots were fired as the motorcade entered the triple underpass which leads to the Stemmons Freeway route to Parkland Hospital.

Pandemonium broke loose around the scene.

The secret service waved the motorcade on at top speed to the hospital.

Even at high speed it took nearly five minutes to get the car to the ambulance entrance of the hospital.

Reporters saw Kennedy lying flat on his face on the seat of his car.

Bell said a man and a woman were scrambling on the upper level of a walkway overlooking the underpass.

Lawrence O'Brien, Presidential Aide, said he had no information.

A Burst of Noise

By James W. Altgens

DALLAS, TEX. NOV. 22 (AP) - There was a burst of noise - the second one I heard - and pieces of flesh appeared to fly from President Kennedy's car.

Blood covered the whole left side of his head.

Mrs. Kennedy saw what had happened to her husband. She grabbed him exclaiming, “Oh, No!”

The car driver realized what had happened and almost as if by reflex speeded up toward Stemmons Expressway. There seemed to be utter confusion.

One motorcycle officer ran his cycle into the curb, almost falling off.

Police came from everywhere as the President's car disappeared from sight.

At first I thought the shots came from the opposite side of the street. I ran over there to see if I could get some pictures. But it turned out to be just more confusion. Police ran in all directions in search of the assassin.

I did not know until later where the shots came from. I was on the opposite side of the President's car from the gunman. He might have hit me.

The motorcade was moving along in routine fashion until there was a noise like fireworks popping. I snapped a picture of the motorcade at just about that time, still unaware of what was happening.

I cranked my camera for another shot. The procession still moved along slowly. Then came the second burst of noise.

Originally I had planned to be on top of a triple overpass to make a scenic picture of the Dallas skyline when the motorcade passed. But police wouldn't let me stay there - the overpass belongs to a railroad.

So I moved to the corner of Houston and Main Streets, made a couple of pictures and ran downhill to get in front of the motorcade again. This put me in place for the pictures of the President being struck down.