From Washington Times:
New light shed on Kent State killings
“A report submitted to Attorney General John Mitchell in June 1970 stated “there was no sniper” who could have fired at the guardsmen before the killings.

Numerous witnesses corroborated this.

(snip)

Rumors of a sniper had circulated for at least a day before the fatal confrontation, the documents show. And a memorandum sent to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover on May 19, 1970, referred to bullet holes found in a tree and a statue — evidence, the report stated, that “indicated that at least two shots had been fired at the National Guard.”

Another interviewee told agents that a guardsman had spoken of “a confirmed report of a sniper.”

It also turned out that the FBI had its own informant and agent-provocateur roaming the crowd, a part-time Kent State student named Terry Norman, who had a camera. Mr. Norman also was armed with a snub-nosed revolver that FBI ballistics tests, first declassified in 1977, concluded had indeed been discharged on that day.”

I had heard a version of that rumor myself. Interesting that these new facts are coming to light now.

Let’s hope secrets of the Bush administration come to light in our lifetimes.

Mr. Radical found a report of a similar college incident from that time. Neither of us had heard of it before.

From the May 4 1970 page:
The May 1970 Tragedy at Jackson State University
“The rioting students set several fires and overturned a dump truck that had been left on campus overnight at a sewer line construction site. Jackson firefighters dispatched to the blaze met a hostile crowd that harangued them as they worked to contain the fire. Fearing for their safety, the firemen requested police back-up.

(snip)

The five-story dormitory was riddled by gunfire. FBI investigators estimated that more than 460 rounds struck the building, shattering every window facing the street on each floor. Investigators counted at least 160 bullet holes in the outer walls of the stairwell alone — bullet holes that can still be seen today.”

Two people were killed and twelve other were struck by the gunfire. Yes, something needs to be done to stop a riot. But were 460 rounds really necessary? I don’t think so.

Posted by Vixen in News