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Originally Posted by nitroae23
Excellent research, Sirhan, however, would not have known any of the security difficulties, with the possible exception of the LAPD incident, for it to have aided his attempt.
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True, Sirhan would not necessarily have been aware of the specific deficiencies in regards to security that night. But that didn’t really matter. It was public knowledge Kennedy was staying at the Ambassador and that a Kennedy campaign rally was going to be held there after the results of the primary election came in. All Sirhan needed to do was go the Ambassador and see whether he could get close to Kennedy or not. And that’s basically what he did.
By eyewitness accounts, Sirhan was first spotted at the Ambassador Hotel just before 9 PM at separate political rally being held adjacent to the one for Kennedy. Though the exact time could never be pinpointed other than being between the hours of 9 PM and 11:30 PM, Sirhan was next seen near the “Colonial Room” which was where Kennedy was heading when he was shot. Also, at some point after 11 PM, Sirhan made his way into a portion of the pantry area that was being used by Kennedy campaign staff. However, he was told to leave by security. But by 11:45 PM, Sirhan returned and was able to get back into the pantry without being stopped, and began asking hotel staff if Kennedy was going to walk through the area. When it was indicated that Kennedy might, Sirhan moved to the spot from which he would later emerge and shoot at Kennedy. In fact, when Kennedy came down from his suite to give his speech in the ballroom, he traveled through the pantry and passed a mere ten feet from where Sirhan was standing, though too many people separated Sirhan from his target at that point. When Kennedy came back into the pantry at about 12:15 AM, Sirhan was still there and was finally able to make his move.
So, from almost the moment he arrived at the Ambassador until Kennedy was shot, Sirhan was free to wander about in back areas of the hotel, and was challenged only once by security during that entire three hour time span. Given that fact alone, it seems that Sirhan certainly wasn’t hampered by not knowing about Kennedy’s security arrangements and how truly lacking they were.
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