Mr. Stern. How close was the President's car?
Mr. Sorrels. At that time we were probably, oh, I would say, several car lengths ahead of it, because we had begun to pick up speed.
Mr. Stern. You think somewhat further than you estimated before?
Mr. Sorrels. As we came around Houston, yes, sir; came around on Houston, yes, because we had begun to pick up speed there. And I remember Mr. Lawson turned around and said, "I wish he would come on, because we are late now," or words to that effect.
And I expressed to him, I said, "Oh, we are not going to be very late."
And I looked at my watch, and it was just about 12:30.
And I said, "We are not going to be over 5 minutes late," and the Chief of Police, I believe, spoke up and said, "We are about 5 minutes away now."
And so they called on the radio to the Trade Mart that we were 5 minutes away.
And it seemed like almost instantly after that, the first shot was heard.
Mr. Stern. Now, did you recognize it at the time as a shot?