Dr. Gregory. I believe that the three wounds could have occurred from a single missile under these specifications.
Mr. Specter. Assume, if you will, another set of hypothetical circumstances: That the 6.5 millimeter bullet traveling at the same muzzle velocity, to wit, 2,000 feet per second, at approximately 165 feet between the weapon and the victim, struck the President in the back of the neck passing through the large strap muscles, going through a fascia channel, missing the pleural cavity, striking no bones and emerging from the lower anterior third of the neck, after striking the trachea. Could such a projectile have then passed into the Governor's back and inflicted all three or all of the wounds which have been described here today?
Dr. Gregory. I believe one would have to concede the possibility, but I believe firmly that the probability is much diminished.
Mr. Specter. Why do you say that, sir?
Dr. Gregory. I think that to pass through the soft tissues of the President would certainly have decelerated the missile to some extent. Having then struck the Governor and shattered a rib, it is further decelerated, yet it has presumably retained sufficient energy to smash a radius.
Moreover, it escaped the forearm to penetrate at least the skin and fascia of the thigh, and I am not persuaded that this is very probable. I would have to yield to possibility. I am sure that those who deal with ballistics can do better for you than I can in this regard.
Mr. Specter. What would your assessment of the likelihood be for a bullet under those hypothetical circumstances to have passed through the neck of the President and to have passed through only the chest of the Governor without having gone through either the wrist or into the thigh?
Dr. Gregory. I think that is a much more plausible possibility or probability.
Mr. Specter. How about the likelihood of passing through the President and through the Governor's chest, but missing his wrist and passing into his thigh?
Dr. Gregory. That, too, is plausible, I believe.