On this day, March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.
John Hinckley Jr. emerged from a crowd and fired a .22-caliber revolver. The first shots hit press secretary James Brady, a police officer and a Secret Service agent. The final shot hit the presidential limo and ricocheted into Reagan’s chest.
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Hinckley was obsessed with actress Jodie Foster and believed he could prove his worth by becoming famous. He first stalked President Jimmy Carter and was arrested near a campaign stop for carrying guns.
Secret Service rushed Reagan to George Washington University Hospital. When first lady Nancy Reagan arrived, Reagan remarked, “Honey, I forgot to duck.”
In the aftermath of the shooting, there was great confusion about who was in control of the government. Secretary of State Alexander Haig rushed into a news conference and announced incorrectly, “I am in control here, in the White House.”
Hinckley was not found not guilty by reason of insanity. He remains confined at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington.
