President John F. Kennedy was shot and assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, by Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine. Oswald fired three shots from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository building while Kennedy's motorcade was passing through Dealey Plaza. Two bullets struck Kennedy, with one entering his upper back and exiting his throat, and the fatal bullet hitting his head, causing his death minutes later. Oswald was apprehended shortly after the shooting and charged with the murders of Kennedy and a Dallas police officer. The official investigation, the Warren Commission, concluded that Oswald acted alone in the assassination.

The motive behind Oswald's actions is less definitively established in the official reports. Conspiracy theories have suggested various alternative motives and parties, including the CIA, the Mafia, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, and foreign leaders; however, no conclusive evidence has confirmed these theories. Oswald's personal motivations remain a subject of historical research and debate.

In summary, JFK was shot because Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated him from the Texas School Book Depository, with the official conclusion that Oswald acted alone, though motives and alternative theories vary widely.