Sipple was part of a crowd of about 3,000 people who had gathered outside San Francisco's St. Francis Hotel to see President Ford on September 22, 1975. Ford, just emerging from the building, was vulnerable despite heavy security protection. Standing beside Sipple in the crowd was Sara Jane Moore. She was about 40 feet (12 m) away from Ford when she fired a single shot at him with a revolver, narrowly missing the President. After realizing she had missed, she raised her arm again, and Sipple dove towards her; he grabbed her arm, possibly saving Ford's life. Sipple said at the time, "I saw gun pointed out there and I grabbed for it. ... I lunged and grabbed the woman's arm and the gun went off." The national news media portrayed Sipple as a hero, and noted his status as a former Marine.