Sipple was part of a crowd of about 3,000 people who had gathered outside San Francisco 's St. Francis Hotel to see President Ford on September 22 , 1975 . Ford , just emerging from the building , was vulnerable despite heavy security protection . Standing beside Sipple in the crowd was Sara Jane Moore . She was about 40 feet ( 12 m ) away from President Ford when she fired a single shot at him with a revolver , narrowly missing the President . After realizing she had missed , she raised her arm again , and Sipple dived towards her ; he grabbed her arm , possibly saving President Ford 's life . Sipple said at the time , " I saw her gun pointed out there and I grabbed for it . ... I lunged and grabbed the woman 's arm and the gun went off . " The bullet ricocheted and hit John Ludwig , a 42-year-old taxi driver ; he survived . The incident came just three weeks after Lynette Fromme 's assassination attempt on Ford . Reporters hounded Sipple who at first did not want his name used , nor his location known
assassination attempt
Gerald Ford assassination attempt in Sacramento
Oliver Sipple