A short history of lone nuts shooting US presidents.

[DanTex]

10. The distance thing is true. However.

Neither Oswald nor James Earl Ray were professional assassins/snipers, nor were they the kind of person that anyone would want to trust with this kind of mission.. Oswald shot JFK with a $12 bolt-action rifle, not the kind of weapon any professional would use.

Looking briefly at examples of notable political assassinations by conspiracy, the pattern includes much more heavy weaponry, and generally more than one assassin, with more emphasis on trying to ensure that the job gets done rather than trying to get away cleanly. For example, the plan to kill Bush Sr involved bombs. Other examples:
• Archduke Franz Ferdinand: six assassins were involved, and a bomb was thrown at his car before eventually he was shot at point-blank range with a pistol.
• Anwar Sadat: a whole truck full of assassins attacked Sadat during a parade, using grenades and assault rifles. Sadat was shot 37 times.
• Charles De Gaulle (attempted): a member of a paramilitary organization opened fire on De Gaulle's car with a machine gun, firing a total of 187 rounds.
• Rafael Trujillo: car ambushed by multiple gunmen supposedly with weapons supplied by the CIA, and riddled with bullets.

This is not a complete list, by any means. But are there many notable examples of political assassinations carried out by snipers, or is that more of a movie thing?