who gave the order to fire at kent state
Kent State shootings
During their climb back to Blanket Hill , several guardsmen stopped and half - turned to keep their eyes on the students in the Prentice Hall parking lot . At 12 : 24 p.m. , according to eyewitnesses , a sergeant named Myron Pryor turned and began firing at the crowd of students with his . 45 pistol . A number of guardsmen nearest the students also turned and fired their rifles at the students . In all , at least 29 of the 77 guardsmen claimed to have fired their weapons , using an estimate of 67 rounds of ammunition . The shooting was determined to have lasted only 13 seconds , although John Kifner reported in The New York Times that `` it appeared to go on , as a solid volley , for perhaps a full minute or a little longer . '' The question of why the shots were fired remains widely debated . Photo 
During their climb back to Blanket Hill , several guardsmen stopped and half - turned to keep their eyes on the students in the Prentice Hall parking lot . At 12 : 24 p.m. , according to eyewitnesses , a sergeant named Myron Pryor turned and began firing at the crowd of students with his . 45 pistol . A number of guardsmen nearest the students also turned and fired their rifles at the students . In all , at least 29 of the 77 guardsmen claimed to have fired their weapons , using an estimate of 67 rounds of ammunition . The shooting was determined to have lasted only 13 seconds , although John Kifner reported in The New York Times that `` it appeared to go on , as a solid volley , for perhaps a full minute or a little longer . '' The question of why the shots were fired remains widely debated . Photo
At 12: 24 p.m., according to eyewitnesses, a sergeant named Myron Pryor turned and began firing at the crowd of students with his 45 pistol.  The question of why the shots were fired remains widely debated.
At 12 : 24 p.m. , according to eyewitnesses , a sergeant named Myron Pryor turned and began firing at the crowd of students with his . 45 pistol . The question of why the shots were fired remains widely debated .
The question of why the shots were fired remains widely debated .
The question of why the shots were fired remains widely debated .