What Aquilla Clemmon really saw
Backlund
However, she was mistaken.
She was standing three quarters of a block from there. She was the ONLY
witness that claimed there were two men involved in the shooting. Her
story has become a key part of most conspiracy buffs theories, although
there are few interviews made with her, and due to this it gives no real
clear answers to what she saw.
She claimed she saw one man unloading his gun as he fled the scene. He
also made a waving gesture toward another man that was standing across
the street from Tippit´s squad car. To Clemmons it appeared that the man
was telling the other "to go on". Then, according to Clemmons, the men
ran off in opposite directions.
Yet, there may be an explanation to what Clemmons saw. According to
recently released FBI documents a second man WAS standing precisely
where Clemmons reported. Frank Cimmons lived in an apartment directly
across the street where Tippit was shot. He told the FBI that he heard
the shots and ran out of the house. There he encountered a hysterical
Helen Markham. She shouted to him, "Call the police!" and pointing in
the direction of the alley between Tenth and Jefferson Street. Cimmons
account matches the time period during Clemmon claimed there was a man
standing across the street from Tippi´s squad car. It is extremely
likely that this is the explanation of what Clemmons actually saw,
considering the timing of Cimmons actions and Clemmons distance from the
scene.