A 6.5 × 52 mm Italian Carcano M91/38 bolt-action rifle was found on the 6th floor of the Texas Book Depository by Deputy Constable Seymour Weitzman and Deputy Sheriff Eugene Boone soon after the assassination of President Kennedy. [66] The recovery was filmed by Tom Alyea of WFAA-TV. [67] This footage shows the rifle to be a Carcano, and it was later verified by photographic analysis commissioned by the HSCA that the rifle filmed was the same one later identified as the assassination weapon. [68] Compared to photographs taken of Oswald holding the rifle in his backyard, "one notch in the stock at [a] point that appears very faintly in the photograph" matched, [69] as well as the rifle's dimensions. [70]

The previous March, the Carcano rifle had been bought by Oswald under the name "A. Hidell" and delivered to a post office box Oswald rented in Dallas. [71] According to the Warren Commission Report, a partial palm print of Oswald was also found on the barrel of the gun, [72] [73] and a tuft of fibers found in a crevice of the rifle was consistent with the fibers and colors of the shirt Oswald was wearing at the time of his arrest. [74] [75]

A bullet found on Connally's hospital gurney, and two bullet fragments found in the presidential limousine, were ballistically matched to this rifle. [76]