And the chief took his microphone and told them to alert the hospital,
and said, Surround the building. He didn't say what building. He just
said, "Surround the building." And by that time we had gotten almost in
under the underpass, and the President's car had come up and was almost
abreast of us.
When I saw them get so close, I said, "Let's get out quick," or "Get
going fast," or something to that effect. In other words, I didn't want
them to pass us, because I knew we were supposed to be in front.
And that is when they floor-boarded the accelerator on the police car
and we got out in front. And someone yelled loudly to go to the nearest
hospital.
Mr. STERN. Let's stop there and go back, and then we will pick up again.
You testified that you heard three reports?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes, sir.
Mr. STERN. Are you pretty certain about that?
Mr. SORRELS. Positive.
Mr. STERN. And no more and no fewer?
Mr. SORRELS. No, sir.
Mr. STERN. Can you you tell us anything about the spacing of these
reports?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes. There was to me about twice as much time between the
first and second shots as there was between the second and third shots.
Mr. STERN. Can you estimate the overall time from the first shot to the
third shot?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes. I have called it out to myself, I have timed it, and
I would say it was very, very close to 6 seconds.
Mr. STERN. It sounds like you can still hear the shots.
Mr. SORRELS. I will hear them forever--it is something I cannot wipe
from my mind ever.
Mr. STERN. And you had little doubt that this was gunfire at the time?
Mr. SORRELS. After--as I said before, on the first shot, it was too
sharp to be a backfire of an automobile. It just didn't sound like
that at all. And then, of course, the other two coming as quickly as
they did, and the confusion, there was no question, because I said,
"Get out of here," meaning to move out, because certainly if there is
anything going on like that, we don't want to even be stationary or
near stationary--it is to get out of the vicinity as quickly as we can
from the source of danger. I thought in my mind--my thought was that I
should maybe get out to try to help apprehend who it was and so forth.
There was no chance for that, because we were moving too fast.
Mr. STERN. Now, as to the apparent source of these reports, did you
feel that all three reports came from the same direction?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes. Definitely so.
Mr. STERN. And that direction, as nearly as you can place it, was what?
Mr. SORRELS. To the right and back. That is about the only way I can
express it.
And, as I said, the noise from the shots sounded like they may have
come back up on the terrace there. And that is the reason I was looking
around like that when the first shot. And I continued to look out until
the other two shots. And then I turned on around and looked back to
where the President's car was, and that is when I saw some movement
there, and the car just seemed to leap forward.
Mr. STERN. When you looked at the terrace to the right of Elm Street,
did you observe any unusual movement?
Mr. SORRELS. No; I didn't see anything unusual at that time.
Mr STERN. Were you looking at that terrace when either the second or
third shot was fired?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes; I was. And I saw just some movement of some people,
but no firearms or anything like that, because we began to move out
rather rapidly. And we were quite a ways down the street at that time.
Mr. STERN. How do you mean movement of people?
Mr. SORRELS. It seems I recall someone turned around and was going in
the other direction, like moving away from the street. And that is all
I can recall.
Mr. STERN. But you didn't observe anything that led you to feel that
the shots might have been fired from that terrace there?
Mr. SORRELS. No, sir.
Mr. STERN. It sounded to you at first as though it came from there?
Mr. SORRELS. That is the way it sounded--back into the rear and to the
right, back up in that direction. And in the direction, of course, of
the building.
But the reports seemed to be so loud, that it sounded like to me--in
other words, that was my first thought, somebody up on the terrace, and
that is the reason I looked there.
As we were approaching the overpass there, Mr. Lawson remarked that
there was an officer on the overpass there. I saw a police officer
standing there, with two or three other persons over to his right.
Mr. STERN. Where is this?
Mr. SORRELS. On the overpass, on Elm Street, after we leave the corner
of Elm and Houston.
There was no activity there. They were just standing there.
And I remarked, as I recall. "A policeman is there," or words to that
effect, because Mr. Lawson had been checking, as well as myself, all of
the overpasses, to see that the officer was there, because that is one
of the specific things that was checked all the way through.
Mr. STERN. And you observed nothing unusual on the overpass?
Mr. SORRELS. No, sir.
Mr. STERN. Were the people on the overpass in a fairly tight group, or
spread out over the overpass?
Mr. SORRELS. As I recall it, the police officer was about the center
of the overpass on Elm Street, and then to his right--I mean to my
right which would have been his left, there seemed to be, as I recall
it, about three other persons up there that appeared to be workmen or
dressed like that, and they were to his right.
They were not right close together, but standing within walking
distance.
Mr. STERN. As far as you can recall, were all the people you saw on the
overpass within the sight of the policeman on the overpass?
Mr. SORRELS. Oh, yes; they were in the same vicinity.
Mr. STERN. Do you have any reason to believe that any of these shots
might have come from the overpass?
Mr. SORRELS. None whatsoever; no, sir.
Mr. STERN. And are you certain in your own mind that they did not come
from the overpass?
Mr. SORRELS. Positive.
Mr. STERN. Do you have any reason to believe that the shots could not
have come from the Book Depository Building?
Mr. SORRELS. No, sir.
Mr. STERN. Would shots from the Book Depository Building have been
consistent with your hearing of the shots?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes; they would have.
Mr. STERN. What happened next, Mr. Sorrels?
Mr. SORRELS. We proceeded to Parkland Hospital just as fast as we could.
Mr. STERN. Did you go into the hospital?
Mr. SORRELS. No; I did not go into the hospital.
Of course the lead car was in front. We went around to the emergency
entrance. I jumped out of the car, and I expected to see stretchers
there, out waiting, but they were not. And I ran to the entrance door
there, and at that time they began to bring stretchers out, and I said,
"Hurry up and get those stretchers out," and someone else, probably one
of the police officers, also said to hurry up and get the stretchers
out.
There was a lot of confusion around at that time.
And they did get the stretchers out. And then Mr. Johnson--they brought
him into the hospital, he rushed into the hospital. And they took Mr.
Connally in, loaded him first, and then the President, and just as
quick as they got in there, I immediately went into a police car that
was leaving and asked them to take me to the building as fast as they
could, and when I said the building I meant the one on the corner
there, which was the Book Depository.
Mr. STERN. Why did you designate the Book Depository?
Mr. SORRELS. Because I wanted to get there and get something going in
establishing who the people were that were in that vicinity. And upon
arrival at the Book Store, we pulled up on the side, and I went in the
back door.
Mr. STERN. Just a minute. Had you heard any mention of the Book
Depository on police broadcasts as you drove to the hospital?
Mr. SORRELS. No; I never heard anything.
Mr. STERN. And, at this point, you were not certain that the shots came
from the Book Depository?
Mr. SORRELS. No; I didn't know at that time.
Mr. STERN. You just wanted to get to that general area?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes, sir; because I knew that there would be witnesses
around there, there would have to be somebody in that vicinity.
And upon arrival at the Book Depository, I went in the back door.
There were people moving around.