Emergency Doctors Determine that Trump was Struck by a Rifle Bullet

[Joe Elliott]

Even if the camera was capable of photographing a rifle bullet, it is much more likely to capture an image of the path of a fragment than the path of a bullet. Because a bullet travels perhaps ten times faster than a fragment does. So a fragment would be within 5 feet of Trump, on either side of Trump, ten times longer than a rifle bullet. So the odds of being lucky enough to capture an image are ten times greater.

A fragment is far more likely to cause a minor wound than a rifle bullet. And a fragment is far more likely to be captured on film than a rifle bullet. Both require a good deal of luck but a rifle bullet requires several times as much luck as a fragment.

Plus, we have four other men standing near by who were struck by fragments.

So, I do not understand why it is such a slam dunk, that Trump was struck by a bullet than a fragment.

[Joe Elliott]

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).

If the shutter speed was 1/400 th or 1/500 th of a second, then it is consistent with a bullet speed of 2700 feet per second. But if the shutter speed was 1/100 th of a second, then it is consistent with a much slower speed, which is consistent with a fragment. Which is also consistent with causing a minor wound. And not blasting the top of the ear off. And likely continuing on to crack the skull, unless the head just happened to be turned perfectly.

Whether it is a rifle bullet or a fragment, it takes a good deal of luck to capture the image of a projectile path. But it takes several times more luck to capture the image of a rifle bullet than it does of a fragment. So I still think it is more likely an image of a fragment than of a rifle bullet.

In any case, we do not have enough information to conclude it was an image of a rifle bullet because we do not know the all important shutter speed.

[Charles Collins]

[Zeon Mason]

So if  the fragment idea is right then Crooks 1st and 2nd shots had to have been far enough off the target of Trumps body in order to have any chance of hitting some obstacle  hard enough to cause the 5.56 mm bullet(s) to fragment into at least 2 pieces.

That raises the question what then was Crooks motive if not to hit Trump at all?

If Crooks was a right winger with no intention to hit Trump but having no problem with shooting at some random unknown people in the crowd, then Crooks motive was multiple:

A. He was a troubled rightwing man who had decided to commit suicide by counter sniper fire.
B. He wanted to cause maximum suspicion directed towards the Democrat party and or the “Globalist Deep State”
C. He admired Trump enough not to target Trump but disliked Trump supporters enough to shoot at them with 8 shots.

If Crooks was a left winger then the 1st and 2nd shots he took were intended to kill Trump  by fatal head wound. Crooks motive in this case was also multiple :

D. Crooks was a troubled left winger like the one who previously shot at Republicans playing softball.
E. Crooks wore camouflage clothing and patriotic image shirt and registered as Republican voter to create an illusion of being a right wing lunatic instead of a left wing lunatic.
F. Crooks wanted to take out Trump (AND a few supporters also) with  an AR 15  rifle while committing suicide by counter sniper so as to remove a   “fascist “ threat to democracy while posthumously becoming a martyr for the Left wing Democrat cause to ban AR-15 rifles.

[Richard Smith]

So if  the fragment idea is right then Crooks 1st and 2nd shots had to have been far enough off the target of Trumps body in order to have any chance of hitting some obstacle  hard enough to cause the 5.56 mm bullet(s) to fragment into at least 2 pieces.

That raises the question what then was Crooks motive if not to hit Trump at all?

If Crooks was a right winger with no intention to hit Trump but having no problem with shooting at some random unknown people in the crowd, then Crooks motive was multiple:

A. He was a troubled rightwing man who had decided to commit suicide by counter sniper fire.
B. He wanted to cause maximum suspicion directed towards the Democrat party and or the “Globalist Deep State”
C. He admired Trump enough not to target Trump but disliked Trump supporters enough to shoot at them with 8 shots.

If Crooks was a left winger then the 1st and 2nd shots he took were intended to kill Trump  by fatal head wound. Crooks motive in this case was also multiple :

D. Crooks was a troubled left winger like the one who previously shot at Republicans playing softball.
E. Crooks wore camouflage clothing and patriotic image shirt and registered as Republican voter to create an illusion of being a right wing lunatic instead of a left wing lunatic.
F. Crooks wanted to take out Trump (AND a few supporters also) with  an AR 15  rifle while committing suicide by counter sniper so as to remove a   “fascist “ threat to democracy while posthumously becoming a martyr for the Left wing Democrat cause to ban AR-15 rifles.

What are the odds that Trump would be hit by a random bullet fragment in that massive crowd if the shooter wasn't aiming at him?   There were thousands of people in attendance.  The shooter was clearly trying to kill Trump.  There was nothing between himself and Trump to cause the bullet to fragment.  Trump was grazed by the bullet.  Motive might never be known.  Particularly with a biased FBI in charge.  I think the shooter was a suicidal, depressed individual who wanted to make his mark on the way out the door.  He was perhaps not politically motivated but a product of the politics of COVID lockdowns and school closures that has resulted in mental health issues for people in his age range.

[Steve M. Galbraith]

What are the odds that Trump would be hit by a random bullet fragment in that massive crowd if the shooter wasn't aiming at him?   There were thousands of people in attendance.  The shooter was clearly trying to kill Trump.  There was nothing between himself and Trump to cause the bullet to fragment.  Trump was grazed by the bullet.  Motive might never be known.  Particularly with a biased FBI in charge.  I think the shooter was a suicidal, depressed individual who wanted to make his mark on the way out the door.  He was perhaps not politically motivated but a product of the politics of COVID lockdowns and school closures that has resulted in mental health issues for people in his age range.

This is the question for the "Trump was hit by fragments" theorists that needs answering: "What was between Trump and the shooter that caused this supposed fragmentation either of a bullet or led to shrapnel/shards injuring Trump?"

Photos of the teleprompter show no damage. There's nothing else that I can see that was between Trump and the shooter. As the Sherlock Holmes' saying goes, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." 

[Zeon Mason]

Geez I’m agreeing with the  2 LNs Richard and Steve. There must be something wrong with me. Quick someone give me my CT pill so that I can continue wasting my time considering ridiculous theories like Alan Fords Oswald Burning Flag (by the mailbox ) or Trumps Ear Hit By Fragment Not Bullet theory 🙄

[Joe Elliott]

This is the question for the "Trump was hit by fragments" theorists that needs answering: "What was between Trump and the shooter that caused this supposed fragmentation either of a bullet or led to shrapnel/shards injuring Trump?"

Photos of the teleprompter show no damage. There's nothing else that I can see that was between Trump and the shooter. As the Sherlock Holmes' saying goes, "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

There are many possibilities. Note the video below:

In the initial picture of this video, and at the time mark of 0:56, one can see four metal railings that can assist people going up some steps. They are about 3 feet tall. A bullet could strike one of these and produce a shower of fragments, which could wound the four police officers standing near the feet of Trump and Trump himself.

There are thousands of people here. But all were not equally likely to get hit by such fragments. The ones within a few feet of the railings are far more likely to be hit than anyone else. The police officers and Trump.

The shooter was firing from 140 years away. Oswald, at the longest range, 88 yards. And Oswald had expert Marine training, whereas Crook's had no such training or any expert training as far as I know. He could miss by several feet.

In any case, it appears some object was hit causing a shower of fragments. In addition to Trump four police officers also had minor wounds from flying debris. Five days later there was a news report that confirmed this by saying of the four injured officers, two were in minor hot water over whether they were authorized to come to Butler to help provide protection. So it appears these officers are not imaginary. One of these "imaginary" police officers can be seen walking in front of the podium, right below Trump's a minute or so before the shooting.

In any case, people have to start to deal with the facts. One can continue to ignore the four officers with minor wounds from flying debris. But you can't expect to find out the truth when one ignores inconvenient facts.

The only defense for the rifle bullet theory is a stream of false statements. "The only reports of the injured officers come in the immediate aftermath of the shooting", "There is no object that could have been struck that could have produced a shower of fragments that could continue in Trump's direction" or "There were no uniformed police officers anywhere near Trump when the shots took place".

And again:
* Why didn't Trump show us his ear before it totally healed?
* How did a bullet struck ear heal up so quickly in anyone, let alone a 78 year old man?
* Why didn't Trump become deaf from a supersonic bullet passing within two inches of his ear drum?
* How is it Trump's head just happened to be turned in such a way, directly toward the shooter, making it possible for a rifle shot to hit his ear but not continue on to hit his skull? How do we know Trump was directly facing the shooter and not 20 degrees to the left?

No answers to any of these questions.