Maybe. I don't know what an escaping murderer would have been thinking. But if he was willing to murder a cop, then it's safe to infer that he'd be willing to murder another, which would mean he would have needed his gun.
My purpose was to call into question the notion that Oswald actually had anything to do with killing the cop. He may have also done so under the scenario outlined by Ethan Edwards, but none of us know anything about that, since he was never brought to trial and the evidence is shaky.
