STORY UPDATED: check for updates below.
Did the FBI say a ballistics test shows Donald Trump was not shot in the ear during a July 13, 2024, assassination attempt on the former president? No, that's not true: The agency told Lead Stories, "The FBI has not released a ballistics report." There are no verified reports or credible information indicating that the FBI has released any ballistics test related to the shooting.
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on X, formerly Twitter, on July 23, 2024. The post's caption said:
JUST IN FROM FBI - BALLISTIC TEST MONDAY BRINGS QUESTIONS
A ballistic test at the Butler Fair Grounds on Monday during the USSS Hearing determined that Trump could not have been shot in the ear or he would have suffered a brain concussion/contusion and a broken neck
This is what the post looked like on X at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Wed Jul 24 16:22:07 2024 UTC)
The post provided no evidence to support its claim that the FBI released a ballistics test showing Trump was not shot in the ear during the assassination attempt.
FBI
Asked about the claim in the social media post, the FBI's National Press Office responded to Lead Stories in a July 24, 2024, email. It said:
The FBI has not released a ballistics report.
Additionally, during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on July 24, 2024, FBI Director Christopher Wray responded to a question about the eight shots fired by the gunman in the assassination attempt. He said it remains unclear if it was a bullet or shrapnel that hit Trump:
With respect to former President Trump, there's some question about whether or not it's a bullet or shrapnel that hit his ear. It's conceivable, although as I sit here right now, I don't know whether that bullet, in addition to causing the grazing, could have also landed somewhere else. But I believe we've accounted for all the shots in the cartridges.
Google search
Lead Stories searched using keywords on Google News, visible here (archived here), and found no credible reporting as of July 24, 2024, to corroborate the claim that the FBI said a ballistics test shows Donald Trump was not shot in the ear.
Read more
More fact checks by Lead Stories about the assassination attempt on Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, can be found here.
Updates:
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2024-07-25T15:07:48Z 2024-07-25T15:07:48Z Adds context from testimony by FBI Director Christopher Wray at a House Judiciary Committee hearing on July 24, 2024.
