Lee Harvey Oswald attempts to assassinate retired U.S. Major General Edwin Walker at his Dallas home 60 years ago this hour #OnThisDay #OTD (Apr 10 1963)


Video: 'Aftermath of Assassination Attempt on Maj. Gen. Edwin Walker | Investigation & Interview | Apr. 1963'

(Wednesday, April 10, 1963, at approximately 9:00 p.m. CST) — Lee Harvey Oswald attempted to kill retired U.S. Major General Edwin Walker tonight, firing the Carcano rifle that he would use to assassinate President John F. Kennedy seven months and 12 days later.

Oswald fired at Walker through a window from less than 100 feet away as Walker sat at a desk in his Dallas home.

The bullet struck the window-frame and Walker’s only injuries were bullet fragments to the forearm.

Walker was an outspoken anti-communist, segregationist, and member of the John Birch Society. In 1961, Walker had been relieved of his command of the 24th Division of the U.S. Army in West Germany for distributing right-wing literature to his troops.


Video: 'Lee Harvey Oswald’s First Assassination? (Maj. Gen. Edwin Walker) - Jimmy Akin's Mysterious World'

Walker’s later actions in opposition to racial integration at the University of Mississippi led to his arrest on insurrection, seditious conspiracy, and other charges. He was temporarily held in a mental institution on orders from President Kennedy’s brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, but a grand jury declined to indict him.

Oswald’s wife, Marina, later testified that her husband told her that he traveled by bus to General Walker’s house and shot at Walker with his rifle. She said that Oswald considered Walker to be the leader of a “fascist organization.”

Before the Kennedy assassination on Nov. 22, 1963, Dallas police had no suspects in the Walker shooting, but Oswald’s involvement was suspected within hours of his arrest following the assassination.