This week, the country came together to remember John F. Kennedy’s death 50 years ago when Lee Harvey Oswald fatally shot the President in Dallas. Meanwhile, a Latvian supermarket’s collapse left 54 dead this week, prompting investigations into whether or not the collapse may entail criminal prosecutions.
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John F. Kennedy Assassination Remembered
50 years after Lee Harvey Oswald took down John F. Kennedy in Dallas, the country came together to mourn the shocking death of an iconic U.S. President.
Kennedy was fatally shot by a sniper when riding in a motorcade through Dallas with his wife, then-Texas Governor John Connally who was also hit and Connally’s wife Nellie. Oswald was taken into police custody about 70 minutes after the shooting for the murder of a police officer. The officer had attempted to stop Oswald after reports came in about a shooting suspect responsible for Kennedy’s death.
Thousands filled Dealey Plaza in Dallas on Friday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s death. These guests had been selected in a lottery, however, as the Dealey Plaza event was closed to general admission.
Along with the countless number of books, news articles, documentaries and more, conspiracy theories over Kennedy’s death resurfaced in force. Some believe that Oswald did not act alone, while others suspected that the Soviets, the CIA or even Vice President Lyndon Johnson all had motives to bring down Kennedy. While all of them remain unproved, the controversy surrounding Kennedy’s death only speaks to the intrigue people still feel about his murder.
Latvian Supermarket Collapse Kills 54
Rescue workers in Riga, Latvia spent the weekend scouring for survivals amidst the rubble of a supermarket that collapsed on Thursday.
54 people were killed when the roof of the Maxima store caved in. The supermarket was full of shoppers rushing home from work, and the death toll made it one of the worst disasters the country had seen in years. Some of the casualties came from a second collapse that occurred because of the building’s weakened structure.
As rescuers continue their search to locate survivors and more victims, a criminal investigation is under way focusing on the building itself. A rooftop garden was reportedly under construction at the time of collapse, prompting suspicions that the structure might have been too weak to support the project.
Five people are still missing, though their chances of survival are growing slim due to the oncoming cold Latvian winter.