The Assassination of Robert Kennedy

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'I'm afraid there are guns between me and the White House' - Robert Kennedy 1968

Robert Kennedy

The Assassination

The Number of Bullets

More than one Gunman?

Pruszynski Recording

CIA Involvement

The Number of Bullets
As with John F. Kennedy five years earlier controversy surrounds the number of bullets fired and the gun or guns they were fired from. While nobody seriously disputes the fact that Sirhan shot at Robert Kennedy with the intention of killing him, many dispute whether he fired the fatal shot or any of the shots that hit Kennedy, and evidence suggesting he not only didn't but he couldn't has never been properly reviewed or contested in a court of law. This is worrying!

Sirhan's gun, a .22 caliber eight-shot Iver-Johnson revolver fired all eight shots during the shooting spree. He didn't reload. Yet according to many researchers including Lisa Pease the numerous injuries caused along with the evidence of bullets impacting ceiling tiles and a door frame can only be accounted for by a minimum of ten bullets. These facts present very persuasive evidence of a second gunman. Where are the experts in ballistics and firearms that could resolve this dilemma? Why are they so quiet on this subject? Surely they can make an informed judgement based on all available evidence and once and for all put this issue to bed.

Of the eight bullets Sirhan allegedly fired, all were accounted for except for one which was lost in the ceiling space. Yet there is evidence that a wooden door frame contained an extra two bullets. This door frame was removed by the LAPD, inspected, x-rayed and eventually destroyed. The x-rays were also destroyed. No evidence of bullets or bullet holes were found according to the LAPD.

So is there a viable scenario to account for all injuries and bullet holes from Sirhan's 8 shot revolver?

This is hotly debated, for instance between John Hunt, Mel Ayton and Dan Moldea

Neither side seems conclusive, it seems it's impossible to conclude anything because of the lack of evidence (thanks to the LAPD). Either side of the debate can at best speculate about the total number of shots fired at the crime scene based on the number of wounds and damage. But there is certainly an uneasy level of doubt regarding the official version of the number of bullets.

See here for the official version of events, courtesy of the Assassination Archives and Research Center (AARC).

The following is a summary of the wounds and damage inflicted on that ill-fated night (note: wounds/bullets not necessarily in correct sequence).

Wound 1: RFK fatal shot in back of head, no exit (Recovered 1)

Wound 2: RFK shot in the right rear armpit, no exit (Recovered 2)

Wound 3: RFK shot in the right rear armpit, exit through right front chest

'Wound' 4: RFK jacket shot, made entry and exit thru rear right shoulder of jacket without striking RFK

Wound 5: Paul Schrade shot in forehead, partial exit (Recovered 3)

Wound 6: Ira Goldstein shot in left thigh, no exit (Recovered 4)

'Wound' 7: Ira Goldstein shot, entry and exit in left pants leg without striking him

Wound 8: Irwin Stroll shot in left shin, no exit (Recovered 5)

Wound 9: Elizabeth Evans shot in forehead, no exit (Recovered 6)

Wound 10: William Weisel shot in left abdomen, no exit (Recovered 7)

Damage 1: Ceiling Tile hole one, bullet penetrated a ceiling tile

Damage 2: Ceiling tile hole two, bullet ricocheted off concrete above tiles and re-entered the pantry

Damage 3: Ceiling tile hole three, bullet penetrated a ceiling tile, apparently remained in ceiling, (not recovered).

Damage 4: Door frame hole 1, bullet lodged in pantry door frame (not recovered)

Damage 5: Door frame hole 2, second bullet lodged in pantry door frame (not recovered)

Recovered = 7, by recovered I mean both recovered in surgery or partial recovery, i.e. bullet fragmented in body but accounted for. Not recovered = 3

Of course this makes it 10 bullets from Sirhan's 8-shot gun! However 3 bullets were never recovered and two in particular (the door frame bullets) are disputed as to whether they ever existed (more on this later).

Can 8 bullets from Sirhan's gun account for above wounds/damage? Yes, I think, based on scenario below. I've added the bullet count and removed the disputed door frame bullets.

Wound 1: RFK fatal shot in back of head, no exit (Bullet 1)

Wound 2: RFK shot in the right rear armpit, no exit (Bullet 2)

Wound 3: RFK shot in the right rear armpit, exit through right front chest (Bullet 3)

Wound 4: RFK jacket shot, made entry and exit thru rear right shoulder of jacket only without striking him (Bullet 4)

Wound 5: Paul Schrade shot in forehead, partial exit (Bullet 4)

Wound 6: Ira Goldstein shot in left thigh, no exit (Bullet 5)

Wound 7: Ira Goldstein shot, entry and exit in left pant leg without striking him (Bullet 6)

Wound 8: Irwin Stroll shot in left shin, no exit (Bullet 6)

Wound 9: Elizabeth Evans shot in forehead, no exit (Bullet 7)

Wound 10: William Weisel shot in left abdomen, no exit (Bullet 8)

Damage 1: Ceiling Tile hole one, bullet penetrated a ceiling tile (Bullet 7)

Damage 2: Ceiling tile hole two, bullet ricocheted off concrete above tiles and re-entered the pantry (Bullet 7)

Damage 3: Ceiling tile hole three, bullet penetrated a ceiling tile, apparently remained in ceiling, (Bullet 3)

Important assumptions made here that are critical to the theory that no more than 8 shots were fired are ;

a) that wound 4 and wound 5 are made by the same bullet

b) that wound 9 and damage 1 & damage 2 are made by the same bullet

But these assumptions and the above scenario seem okay to me, and don't require any more than 8 bullets.

The Pantry Doorframe

So what investigations were carried out to trace the exact flight path of each of Sirhan's 8 bullets?

e.g. Do we know for sure if RFK could have been positioned in such a way that a bullet could traverse his jacket and continue on to hit Paul Schrade?

Do we know for sure the flight path of bullet 7. Could it have travelled from Sirhan's gun, through the ceiling tile, ricocheted off the concrete above the tiles, travelled back into the pantry through another ceiling tile, ricocheted off the floor and hit Elizabeth Evans in the forehead (remember she claims she was bending over at the time, also the bullet travelled upwards after entering her forehead). Is this not a simple case of geometry?

Have the relative positions and bullet angle of entry and exit of the following been established?

• both ceiling tiles

• the ricochet point on the concrete above tiles

• the ricochet point on the floor

• Elizabeth Evans

And of course how do we explain the fact that Sirhan and RFK were facing each other and no bullet seems to have hit RFK from the front!

We are also faced with the problem presented by the Pruszynski recording which contradicts the number of bullets.

And when we re-introduce the door frame bullet holes we have too many bullets to neatly fit into the official version of events. See here for photos of doorframe courtesy of the Mary Ferrell foundation. These are photos taken by the FBI, LAPD and the Associated Press who all seemed under the impression that these were two bullet holes. In fact the doorframe was removed as evidence but this evidence never seemed to make it to the court case!

There seems to be more questions than answers with regard to the number of bullets!

Is there any evidence to support the case that Sirhan may have been hynotised, a so-called 'Manchurian Candidate'?

Why did Sirhan's defense team present such a weak case?

And just who was the polka-dotted-dress girl?

Why did the LAPDs Special Unit Senator (SUS) group act in such a manner. e.g. Their (Hernandez) interrogation of prime witness Sandy Serrano. Throughout the investigation they seemed to have a cavalier attitude according to many of the witnesses they interrogated, sorry I mean interviewed. Who did the SUS take their guidance or remit from?

So was there a second gunman one wonders?