Emergency Doctors Determine that Trump was Struck by a Rifle Bullet

[Andrew Mason]

That explains it. Technically any single point or pixel in the photo is exposed for the specified shutter speed time. However, the time that it takes to expose the overall photo (or even just the length of the bullet streak) is greater than the specified shutter speed time. Since the shutter “roll” apparently moves horizontally when the camera is in landscape orientation, I imagine that if Mills had had the camera turned 90-degrees (portrait orientation) that the shutter roll would have been vertical and a horizontal bullet streak would have been closer to the correct length for that 1/8000 of a second shutter speed setting. Thanks Jerry!

The camera used was a Sony ILCE-1 camera which used a vertical travel mechanical shutter:

But that is not a problem since the camera was turned so that the vertical travel of the shutter curtain was in the same direction as the bullet travel.

While the exposure time is effectively 1/8000th of a second, the time it takes for the shutter opening to travel from top to bottom of the image sensor (shutter speed), appears to be 1/400th or 1/500th of a second (depending on whether it was 35 mm full frame or APS-C).  This means that the space between shutter curtains as it passes over the sensor is 1/20th or 1/16th of the vertical image captured.  So each photo is essentially a series of exposures from top to bottom of 1/8000th second snippets.  The time between the beginning of exposure of the top snippet and the end of exposure of the bottom one would be 1/400th of a second or 1/500th of a second.

If the camera used a shutter speed of 1/400th of a second (2.5 ms) and an exposure time of 1/8000th of a second, the time between one end of the streak and the other would be the width of the streak divided by the frame width x 2.5 ms.  So in this case, I measure the streak to be 21.4% of the total width of the image.  So the total exposure time is:

Exposure time for streak = .214 x 2.5 = .535 milliseconds.

If the camera used a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second (2 ms), the exposure time for the streak would be .214 x 2 = .428 ms.

Bullet speed

If the muzzle speed of the bullet was 3300 feet per second, by the time it travelled 450 feet it would be down to around 2700 fps.  So in 1 ms it would travel 2.7 feet. In .428 ms it would travel 1.16 feet or about 14 inches.  In .535 seconds it would travel about 17 inches.

So it looks to me like that is the real bullet streak is consistent with being captured by a shutter speed of 1/400th or 1/500th of a second with an exposure time of 1/8000th of a second (shutter curtain window of 1/16th or1/20th of the sensor width travelling across the image sensor in the direction of the bullet travel (ie direction of bullet travel in the image). 

[Charles Collins]

The camera used was a Sony ILCE-1 camera which used a vertical travel mechanical shutter:

But that is not a problem since the camera was turned so that the vertical travel of the shutter curtain was in the same direction as the bullet travel.

While the exposure time is effectively 1/8000th of a second, the time it takes for the shutter opening to travel from top to bottom of the image sensor (shutter speed), appears to be 1/400th or 1/500th of a second (depending on whether it was 35 mm full frame or APS-C).  This means that the space between shutter curtains as it passes over the sensor is 1/20th or 1/16th of the vertical image captured.  So each photo is essentially a series of exposures from top to bottom of 1/8000th second snippets.  The time between the beginning of exposure of the top snippet and the end of exposure of the bottom one would be 1/400th of a second or 1/500th of a second.

If the camera used a shutter speed of 1/400th of a second (2.5 ms) and an exposure time of 1/8000th of a second, the time between one end of the streak and the other would be the width of the streak divided by the frame width x 2.5 ms.  So in this case, I measure the streak to be 21.4% of the total width of the image.  So the total exposure time is:

Exposure time for streak = .214 x 2.5 = .535 milliseconds.

If the camera used a shutter speed of 1/500th of a second (2 ms), the exposure time for the streak would be .214 x 2 = .428 ms.

Bullet speed

If the muzzle speed of the bullet was 3300 feet per second, by the time it travelled 450 feet it would be down to around 2700 fps.  So in 1 ms it would travel 2.7 feet. In .428 ms it would travel 1.16 feet or about 14 inches.  In .535 seconds it would travel about 17 inches.

So it looks to me like that is the real bullet streak is consistent with being captured by a shutter speed of 1/400th or 1/500th of a second with an exposure time of 1/8000th of a second (shutter curtain window of 1/16th or1/20th of the sensor width travelling across the image sensor in the direction of the bullet travel (ie direction of bullet travel in the image).

Well done Andrew. I had the aspect ratio backwards (in my memory). But I did grasp the concept. Thanks for your efforts and correcting my mistake.

[Andrew Mason]

Well done Andrew. I had the aspect ratio backwards (in my memory). But I did grasp the concept. Thanks for your efforts and correcting my mistake.

I have you and Jerry to thank for the idea. I just worked it out. 

I should add that this also explains why the beginning (left side) of the bullet trail is faint and gets progressively stronger until about 1/4 of the way along.

The beginning of the bullet track captures the bullet as its image passes the trailing shutter curtain.  But that part is then cut off from light as the trailing shutter curtain immediately covers the sensor at that point. After 1/8000th of a second or 1/20th of the full frame width (at shutter speed of 1/400th second), the sensor is fully exposed with the bullet present.  That continues until the bullet passes the leading curtain.  So we should see a faint trail becoming stronger as the bullet moves to the right to about 1/4 of the trail length, then a consistent image afterward until the bullet passes the leading shutter curtain.  That appears to me to be consistent with the image, which adds credibility to the authenticity of the photo.

[Charles Collins]

I have you and Jerry to thank for the idea. I just worked it out. 

I should add that this also explains why the beginning (left side) of the bullet trail is faint and gets progressively stronger until about 1/4 of the way along.

The beginning of the bullet track captures the bullet as its image passes the trailing shutter curtain.  But that part is then cut off from light as the trailing shutter curtain immediately covers the sensor at that point. After 1/8000th of a second or 1/20th of the full frame width (at shutter speed of 1/400th second), the sensor is fully exposed with the bullet present.  That continues until the bullet passes the leading curtain.  So we should see a faint trail becoming stronger as the bullet moves to the right to about 1/4 of the trail length, then a consistent image afterward until the bullet passes the leading shutter curtain.  That appears to me to be consistent with the image, which adds credibility to the authenticity of the photo.

The metadata lists the original photo as 2424 x 1474. What is the highest resolution file for this that is freely available online for download?

[Andrew Mason]

The metadata lists the original photo as 2424 x 1474. What is the highest resolution file for this that is freely available online for download?

That would indicate a 3.5 megapixel photo. I am not sure where you would obtain the original for download.  I expect that NYT has not released it.

[Zeon Mason]

Presumably Crooks was trying to hit Trump in the head with 1st and 2nd shots yes?

So if Crooks rifle scope was properly zeroed and he knew the range from getting an accurate reading with his range finder device, then theoretically the trajectory of the 1st and 2nd shots would have been so close to hitting Trump in the head that it’s virtually impossible any obstacle was in the trajectory line that could have fragmented the bullets such that a fragment would travel parallel and penetrate Trumps upper ear without also striking some portion of his skull.

The only probability of fragmentation from some obstacle therefore must  be when Crooks went spray and pray mode with the next 6 shots.

However it appears imo from Trumps reaction , that he was probably hit in the ear by the 2nd shot , then ducked down and was covered over by the SS agents.

So I really do not see how any one of the next 6 shots that MIGHT have hit some obstacle and fragmented could have ever nicked Trumps ear while he was covered over with all those SS agents on top of him.

[Charles Collins]

If this animation is anywhere close to being accurate, then it appears to me that Mills’ bullet streak photo is of the second shot.




However, the question becomes: Which shot hit Trump’s ear? I think the first shot hit his ear and his reaction time to get his hand up to his ear was a little longer than the time between the first and second bullets. But I haven’t ruled out the possibility that the second shot might have been the one that hit his ear.

What other evidence do we have at this point that might help one determine this?

[Andrew Mason]

If this animation is anywhere close to being accurate, then it appears to me that Mills’ bullet streak photo is of the second shot.




However, the question becomes: Which shot hit Trump’s ear? I think the first shot hit his ear and his reaction time to get his hand up to his ear was a little longer than the time between the first and second bullets. But I haven’t ruled out the possibility that the second shot might have been the one that hit his ear.

From the video I measure about .75 seconds between the first two shot sounds arriving at the camera microphone:

To travel the 400 feet from the rifle muzzle to Trump, the sound would take 400/1130=.35 seconds = 350 ms.
For the bullet travelling at an average speed of 3000 fps, the bullet would take only 400/3000=.133 seconds=133 ms. to cover that same distance.  So the bullet (and its shock wave) arrived at least 200 ms before the sound from the muzzle blast arrived.

So that means that the second shot arrived about 200 ms. before the sound of the second shot that was captured on the camera.  Trump appears to flinch about 125 - 135 ms. before the sound of the second shot sound arrives.  If he was reacting to the second shot, his reaction time to feeling the bullet or sensing its shock wave would have to have been less than 100 ms.  That seems unlikely.  So I would say it is more likely that Trump was struck by the first bullet.