It's not the sound, it's the air pressure coming off that bullet. Bullets can break the sound barrier. I don't know if that particular round does though.

That is such a good thought. It’s the first time anyone suggested that and I think it’s a perfect explanation. The only thing I focused on was the way secret service left him open. In a normal situation no part of his body would have been exposed. And, they would not have stopped for his shoes.

Any secret service person acting that way would have been fired. I was a federal agent and safety is the first thought in a dangerous situation

The whole thing smells really bad.

.223/5.56 does move faster than sound, but the disruption is small in comparison to a jet breaking the sound barrier.

If it's flying a couple inches from your ear, even if it doesn't hit you you're gonna feel something.

I have been close enough to hear one go past me. I don't know if that means it passed by 2 feet or 10 feet. It does not create enough air movement to feel. It was just a zzzz sound that lasted a fraction of a second. I was at a firehouse in a bad neighborhood on NYE. Lots of gunfire at midnight.