- 01: Introduction
- 02: History
- 03: Propellants, Firearms, and Ammunition Development
- 04: Modern Firearms Manufacture
- 05: Small Arms Ammunition
- 06: Evidence Handling Procedures
- 07: Equipment and Instrumentation
- 08: Examination of Firearms
- 09: Cartridge and Shotshell Examination
- 10: Characterization and Evaluation of Fired Projectiles
- 11: Bullet Comparison and Identification
- 12: Gunshot Residue and Distance Determination
- 13: Toolmark Identification
- 14: Communicating Results
- Resources
1968-1969
Home > History > 1968-1969
1968
Martin Luther King
Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. A high-power rifle was found near the crime scene. Partial latent prints found on the rifle were linked to suspect, James Earl Ray, by the FBI’s Latent Print Unit. Robert A. Frazier, a senior member of the FBI Laboratory’s Firearms and Toolmarks Unit, examined the firearms evidence. He concluded that the recovered evidence cartridge case was fired in the evidence rifle, but it was not possible to determine whether or not the evidence bullet was fired from the recovered rifle.
1968
In June, Senator Robert Kennedy was shot and killed in a Los Angeles hotel while campaigning for the office of president of the United States. Examination of the firearms evidence was performed by Officer DeWayne A. Wolfer of the Los Angeles Police Department Crime Laboratory.
1969
The Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE) was formed. The first official publication of the association, AFTE Newsletter Number 1, was published on May 15, 1969. The name of the newsletter was subsequently changed to the AFTE Journal in 1972.
