How Trump was inches from death

The photo is extraordinary. Taken by a New York Times photographer, it shows what appears to be a bullet in mid-flight, passing right by the head of former President Donald Trump.

So, what do we know about the weapon used in the attack, the damage it can do, and just how close Donald Trump came to death?

The security services say an AR-15 was recovered from the scene. Sometimes called “America’s Rifle”, it has been involved in numerous mass shootings.

It usually fires a 5.56mm round, the Nato standard, although can be converted to fire other calibres. The AR-15 would easily be able to kill at that range, as evidenced by the one death (at least) in the crowd.

According to Justin Crump of the security analysts Sibylline, for assault rifles to cause maximum damage “the energy in the round has to dissipate, which requires a hard stop”.

It is the transference of energy, rather than just the physical displacement caused by the bullet, that makes assault rifles so devastating.

The fact the bullet grazed his ear meant that the devastating potential energy contained within the round did not transfer.

It will not have been without consequences, however, according to Crump. “The shockwave past the eardrum won’t have been fun and it could leave an interesting scar,” he says.

Had the bullet been just an inch to the right, or the former president’s head at a slightly different angle, all that kinetic energy would have transferred itself to him, with devastating consequences.

In short, Trump was inches from death.