On this day, March 30, 1981, President Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr., outside the Washington Hilton Hotel north of Dupont Circle.
Hinckley was obsessed with actress Jodie Foster and hoped to prove his worth by becoming famous.
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Reagan was shot in the chest. Secret Service agents rushed him to George Washington University Hospital because its emergency room was expert at treating gunshot wounds. When first lady Nancy Reagan arrived, the president said, “Honey, I forgot to duck.”
There was a great confusion about who was in control of the government at the time. Secretary of State Alexander Haig rushed into a news conference and announced incorrectly, “I am in control here.”
Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity. He remains confined at St. Elizabeths Hospital.
– Scott McCabe
