The American journal of forensic medicine and pathology
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Am J Forensic Med Pathol · Dec 2019
Historical ArticleThe Unique and Misunderstood Wound Ballistics in the John F. Kennedy Assassination.
President Kennedy sustained 2 gunshot wounds on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, while riding in the right-rear seat of the presidential limousine. The convertible top was down, and no special ballistic protection for the occupants was present. The ballistic events in the assassination and subsequent ballistic evidence were not fully understood then and continue to be misunderstood and often misrepresented today. ⋯ An understanding of the wound ballistic characteristics associated with the John F. Kennedy assassination also applies to certain contemporary bullets. Such an understanding could assist forensic pathologists in future cases in evaluating and correctly interpreting gunshot wounds associated with these types of bullets.