http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/06/ap/sportsline/main2765288.shtmlSurvivor Of 1970 Kent State Shooting Releases Tape He Says Contains Order To Fire
KENT, Ohio, May. 6, 2007
(AP) A static-filled recording of the 1970 Kent State University that killed four students raises questions not only about whether someone called on National Guardsmen to fire, but also who might have given the order.
The tape was released Tuesday by Alan Canfora, 58, one of nine students wounded in the 1970 shootings. He played two versions of the tape _ the original and an amplified version _ in which he says a Guard officer issues the command, "Right here! Get Set! Point! Fire!"
Background noise on the recording made it difficult to understand as it was played for students and reporters in a campus theater Tuesday. The word "point" is clear, followed by the sound of shots being fired. There is no indication on the tape of who said the word.
The tape was given to Yale in 1979 for its Kent State archives by an attorney who represented students in a lawsuit filed against the state over the shooting. Canfora said he found out about it six months ago while researching the shooting.
Some said they wondered what would be achieved by releasing the tape so many years after the shootings.
"I think both sides were at fault," said Brett Wilson, 18, a Kent State student. He said students were trying to provoke the Guard and Guardsmen overreacted with deadly force.
But Canfora said he will turn over copies of the tape to federal and state officials with an appeal to reopen the investigation over how the firing began.
"We're hoping for new investigations and new truths," he said. "We need truth, we need healing."
He said voice analysis might help determine who was speaking on the tape.
"I think we'll know who gave that order," Canfora said.
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