Why did Oswald go get his revolver?

[Martin Weidmann]

If Tippit had seen that Oswald had a revolver, he IMO wouldn't have gotten out of his car without first having taken his revolver out of it's holster.

The entire encounter is strange.

Oswald had no obvious reason for being at a suburban area like 10th street if he was on the run after killing Kennedy. Unless of course (and here comes the tin foil hat) in case he was told to go there, if whatever he was involved in went wrong. I somehow find that highly speculative possibility more plausible than the theory that a killer on the run takes a taxi (after offering one to a lady) to his rooming house, getting his revolver and then stand at the bus stop in front of the building, before deciding that he would go, of all places, to 10th street instead of walking to Jefferson and get on the first bus.

On the other hand, Tippit had no obvious reason to stop a civilian walking on the sidewalk, but he nevertheless initiated contact (without telling the operator) by calling Oswald to the side of the car to have a conversation with him. They didn't talk long, so what would have caused the massive escalation?

And if we assume that Oswald was the assassin on the run, why would he be so stupid to draw instant attention to himself and his location by killing a cop in front of witnesses? It seems to me this can't be explained by simply claiming he just panicked.

Does this mean Oswald didn't kill Tippit? No, of course not. It just means that none of it makes a great deal of sense, if you really think about it.
 

[Lance Payette]

If Tippit had seen that Oswald had a revolver, he IMO wouldn't have gotten out of his car without first having taken his revolver out of it's holster.

The entire encounter is strange.

Oswald had no obvious reason for being at a suburban area like 10th street if he was on the run after killing Kennedy. Unless of course (and here comes the tin foil hat) in case he was told to go there, if whatever he was involved in went wrong. I somehow find that highly speculative possibility more plausible than the theory that a killer on the run takes a taxi (after offering one to a lady) to his rooming house, getting his revolver and then stand at the bus stop in front of the building, before deciding that he would go, of all places, to 10th street instead of walking to Jefferson and get on the first bus.

On the other hand, Tippit had no obvious reason to stop a civilian walking on the sidewalk, but he nevertheless initiated contact (without telling the operator) by calling Oswald to the side of the car to have a conversation with him. They didn't talk long, so what would have caused the massive escalation?

And if we assume that Oswald was the assassin on the run, why would he be so stupid to draw instant attention to himself and his location by killing a cop in front of witnesses? It seems to me this can't be explained by simply claiming he just panicked.

Does this mean Oswald didn't kill Tippit? No, of course not. It just means that none of it makes a great deal of sense, if you really think about it.

Yes, almost every aspect of the JFKA seems to have come from the pen of some crazed whodunnit author who was cackling "They'll NEVER figure this out!" Literally nothing is neat and clean. It just isn't.

Up to the Tippit killing, everything has gone unbelievably smoothly for Oswald. He survives the Baker encounter - near miracle. He exits the TSBD and walks away - near miracle. He gets to Beckley without incident and pockets his revolver - perfect. AND THEN HE STARTS WALKING DOWN THE SIDEWALK in full view of the world (perhaps even pausing to pee into the bushes!) - WHY? And then he encounters Tippit in full view of umpteen witnesses and PROCEEDS TO BLOW HIM AWAY, including a close-up kill shot to the head, thereby destroying in an instant any hope of a clean escape - WHY? Why did Oswald the previously cool cucumber morph so quickly into Oswald the crazed murderer? And, then, for whatever they are worth, we have the accounts of Tippit's morning activities that suggest he was up to "something" before the Oswald encounter. Anyone is certainly entitled to conclude "I'm 100% confident the LN narrative is fundamentally correct" - but the mysteries don't just go away. Hence my sleep-inducing exercise of trying to picture exactly, in detail, what the key players were doing and why.

"OK, Oswald sneaks into the Paine garage before 9 AM and wraps the rifle ... Ruth finds the light on at 9 ... Oswald goes back into the garage at 4 AM ... no, wait, that won't work because ..."

[Martin Weidmann]

Yes, almost every aspect of the JFKA seems to have come from the pen of some crazed whodunnit author who was cackling "They'll NEVER figure this out!" Literally nothing is neat and clean. It just isn't.

Up to the Tippit killing, everything has gone unbelievably smoothly for Oswald. He survives the Baker encounter - near miracle. He exits the TSBD and walks away - near miracle. He gets to Beckley without incident and pockets his revolver - perfect. AND THEN HE STARTS WALKING DOWN THE SIDEWALK in full view of the world (perhaps even pausing to pee into the bushes!) - WHY? And then he encounters Tippit in full view of umpteen witnesses and PROCEEDS TO BLOW HIM AWAY, including a close-up kill shot to the head, thereby destroying in an instant any hope of a clean escape - WHY? Why did Oswald the previously cool cucumber morph so quickly into Oswald the crazed murderer? And, then, for whatever they are worth, we have the accounts of Tippit's morning activities that suggest he was up to "something" before the Oswald encounter. Anyone is certainly entitled to conclude "I'm 100% confident the LN narrative is fundamentally correct" - but the mysteries don't just go away. Hence my sleep-inducing exercise of trying to picture exactly, in detail, what the key players were doing and why.

"OK, Oswald sneaks into the Paine garage before 9 AM and wraps the rifle ... Ruth finds the light on at 9 ... Oswald goes back into the garage at 4 AM ... no, wait, that won't work because ..."

Yes, almost every aspect of the JFKA seems to have come from the pen of some crazed whodunnit author who was cackling "They'll NEVER figure this out!" Literally nothing is neat and clean. It just isn't.

A classic disinformation strategy; keep them guessing.....

But why? When this is a cut and dried killing?

[Lance Payette]

Yes, almost every aspect of the JFKA seems to have come from the pen of some crazed whodunnit author who was cackling "They'll NEVER figure this out!" Literally nothing is neat and clean. It just isn't.

A classic disinformation strategy; keep them guessing.....

But why? When this is a cut and dried killing?

Even the PEOPLE. Oswald couldn't just be an everyday angry punk. Ruth Paine couldn't just be an ordinary housewife. Jack Ruby couldn't just be an ordinary businessman. And right up and down the line - almost EVERYBODY is quirky and invites speculation. And the weird connections are seemingly endless.

I have mentioned before my friend who is internationally known in UFO circles and who thinks we live in a virtual reality. He believes that certain events are "programmed" and have a significance far beyond the event itself. He has no interest at all in the JFKA, but it is one of those events he thinks has a deeper significance. Pretty far out, but sometimes it almost seems to make sense: the JFKA actually is a cosmically programmed whodunnit!

[Richard Smith]

There is no great mystery about the Tippit encounter.  Tippit was an experienced police officer.  Oswald had just assassinated the president.  He was the most sought-after criminal in the world.  For all Oswald knew, by the time he sees Tippit's car he has already been identified as a potential suspect.  He knows the FBI has been keeping track of him.  A police officer has already pulled a gun on him.  He is missing from the scene.  Witnesses may have seen him fire the shot etc.  He has good cause to be paranoid.  Enter Tippit in a random encounter.  Oswald does something that makes him suspicious.   Maybe he does a sudden about face when he sees Tippit's car.  Whatever it is it draws Tippit's attention to him.  So he stops to check it out.  Oswald won't identify himself to Tippit because he might already be a wanted man.  He tries to bullshit his way out of this but that doesn't satisfy Tippit.  When he gets out of the car, Oswald thinks it is now or never.  So he kills him while he has the chance and makes a run for it. 

[Lance Payette]

There is no great mystery about the Tippit encounter.  Tippit was an experienced police officer.  Oswald had just assassinated the president.  He was the most sought-after criminal in the world.  For all Oswald knew, by the time he sees Tippit's car he has already been identified as a potential suspect.  He knows the FBI has been keeping track of him.  A police officer has already pulled a gun on him.  He is missing from the scene.  Witnesses may have seen him fire the shot etc.  He has good cause to be paranoid.  Enter Tippit in a random encounter.  Oswald does something that makes him suspicious.   Maybe he does a sudden about face when he sees Tippit's car.  Whatever it is it draws Tippit's attention to him.  So he stops to check it out.  Oswald won't identify himself to Tippit because he might already be a wanted man.  He tries to bullshit his way out of this but that doesn't satisfy Tippit.  When he gets out of the car, Oswald thinks it is now or never.  So he kills him while he has the chance and makes a run for it.

But the most sought-after criminal in the world is casually walking down the sidewalk ...

[John Corbett]

There is no great mystery about the Tippit encounter.  Tippit was an experienced police officer.  Oswald had just assassinated the president.  He was the most sought-after criminal in the world.  For all Oswald knew, by the time he sees Tippit's car he has already been identified as a potential suspect.  He knows the FBI has been keeping track of him.  A police officer has already pulled a gun on him.  He is missing from the scene.  Witnesses may have seen him fire the shot etc.  He has good cause to be paranoid.  Enter Tippit in a random encounter.  Oswald does something that makes him suspicious.   Maybe he does a sudden about face when he sees Tippit's car.  Whatever it is it draws Tippit's attention to him.  So he stops to check it out.  Oswald won't identify himself to Tippit because he might already be a wanted man.  He tries to bullshit his way out of this but that doesn't satisfy Tippit.  When he gets out of the car, Oswald thinks it is now or never.  So he kills him while he has the chance and makes a run for it.

The recent posts in this thread perfectly illustrate what I pointed out in another thread. So many people want to overthink this case. They make if far more complicated than it actually is. Instead of simply looking at the evidence and following it to a logical conclusion, they introduce red herring arguments that lead nowhere. They make presumptions about what the various characters should have been thinking at any given time. They expect mentally unbalanced  people like Oswald and Ruby to make rational decisions and question their motivations at every turn. My question to them is, "Why ask why". We don't need to know why somebody committed a particular act when we have ample evidence they did commit the act.

Now I'm going to play amateur psychologist. I think the reason so many people delve into the motivations of the people involved is the JFKA is a hobby for them. A whodunnit. Who wants to read a murder mystery if the perpetrator is revealed in chapter one. They want a more interesting story than the one the WC fed them. They invent twists and turns where none exist. The evidence is crystal clear. Oswald killed JFK and JDT. Ruby killed Oswald. We can have fun guessing why but they are questions that don't need to be answered with certainty.