New York Times says '3-D model' analysis shows Trump was struck by bullet — not 'debris'

Questions continue to swirl about the injuries suffered by Donald Trump in an apparent assassination attempt.

There has been no official report from Trump's team or government agencies about what caused the wound to his right ear when a gunman opened fire at his Pennsylvania rally, but a New York Times analysis relying on video from the event and a 3-D model found that Trump's ear most likely was grazed by the first of eight bullets fired by Thomas Crooks.

"A key piece of evidence in The Times’s analysis is a live video feed that captures Mr. Trump’s reaction as the first three gunshots are fired," the newspaper reported. "The crack of the bullets are heard as they pass the microphone that Mr. Trump speaks into. Almost a second elapses between the first and second shots."

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The former president flinches and starts reaching toward his ear in the brief moment between the first audible shot and the second, and photos show his fingers were bloodied as soon as he touched his ear, and that same first bullet appears to pass him and strike bleachers to his left, where many of his supporters were standing.

Rally attendee David Dutch appears to have been injured by the second shot, which was fired along a similar trajectory, and he winces and then crouches down as the third shot passes.

The Times produced a 3-D model of the rally grounds to help determine the trajectory of all eight gunshots – a burst of three followed by a burst of five – and found the first shot, which apparently struck Trump, was not deflected by first striking another object that would have sprayed him with debris.

Another bullet injured 74-year-old James Copenhaver, who was standing a few feet away from Dutch, and video analysis shows 50-year-old Corey Comperatore was shot in the head and killed by the second volley of shots fired by the 20-year-old Crooks, who was quickly shot and killed by a Secret Service sniper.