Assassination of John F. Kennedy President Kennedy as his motorcade continued down Elm Street. About 80% of the witnesses recalled hearing three shots. A minority of the witnesses recognized the first gunshot they heard as weapon fire, but there was hardly any reaction to the first shot from a majority of the people in the crowd or those riding in the motorcade. Many bystanders later said that they heard what they first thought to either be a firecracker or the backfire of one of the vehicles shortly after the President had begun waving. Although some close witnesses recalled seeing the limousine slow down, nearly stop,
Timeline of the John F. Kennedy assassination the trip. United States Ambassador to the United Nations Adlai Stevenson II gives a contentious speech on what is designated United Nations Day at the Dallas Memorial Auditorium where he is booed and heckled. After the speech, as he is walking to his limo he stops to talk to a loud group of protestors when he is suddenly hit across the face with a picket sign and then spit upon. October 28, 1963: Jerry Bruno flies to Austin, Texas to begin his evaluation of the stops being considered for the Kennedy visit on November 21–22. October 29, 1963: Bruno meets