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,
SS-100-X SS-100-X SS-100-X was the U.S. Secret Service code name for the presidential limousine originally used by the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. The limousine is the car in which Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy were passengers when the President was assassinated in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963. Following Kennedy's assassination, the car received significant armor plating and a bullet-proof hardtop and its navy blue exterior was painted black. It resumed its role as a presidential limousine for President Lyndon B. Johnson until 1967 and later remained in service until 1978, when it was sent