Mr. STERN. Just a minute.
How much time do you think elapsed from the time the shots were fired
until the time you returned to the Book Depository?
Mr. SORRELS. I don't believe it could have been over about 20 minutes,
because we went to the hospital just as fast as we possibly could, and
I wasn't there very long.
And we came back as fast as we could.
Of course we didn't get back as fast as we went out there, because
traffic was moving.
The other way it was just cleared out to the Trade Mart. We had clear
sailing from the time that the shots were fired until we got to the
Trade Mart, because that was the route that we were going to go anyway.
And that was cleared out.
But coming back, of course, there was traffic. We did come back under
lights and siren, as fast as we could.
But there was traffic that slowed us up some.
Mr. STERN. So you estimate not more than 20 minutes?
Mr. SORRELS. I don't believe it could have been more than 20 or 25
minutes at the very most.
Mr. STERN. Then you arrived at the Book Depository Building, and did
you see any police officers outside the building?
Mr. SORRELS. Yes; there were officers. I recall seeing officers. I
could not say any specific one.
Now, as I came into the back of the building, there was a colored man
standing on the rear platform, a loading platform. And he was just
standing there looking off into the distance. I don't think he knew
what happened.