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President John F. Kennedy (left) during an earlier motorcade.
solving crimes with physics
The presidential motorcade traveled nearly its entire route without in-
cident, stopping twice so Kennedy could shake hands with some Catholic
nuns, then some schoolchildren. And then, shortly after noon, the nation’s
worst nightmare became a reality.
As the limousine passed through the crowds, Kennedy was shot at for
an estimated six to nine seconds. During the shooting, the limousine is
calculated to have slowed from over 13 miles per hour to only 9 miles per
hour. The
Warren Commission
later concluded that one of the three shots
likely missed the motorcade, that the first bullet to hit anyone went straight
through Kennedy and likely also caused all of Connally’s injuries, and the
last bullet to hit anyone opened a fatal wound in Kennedy’s head. Most in-
