After finishing his speech at the Washington Hilton, shortly before
2:30 on March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan--surrounded by aides--walked
out of the hotel and towards his waiting limousine. Reagan waves
to the crowd. A voice yells, "President Reagan, President Reagan!"
Hinckley fires six shots from his .22 pistol, hitting four different people,
and then is wrestled quickly to the ground. One of the bullets ricochets
off the limousine and hits the President, lodging in his lung--just three
inches from his heart. Another bullet passes through the brain of
Press Secretary James Brady, permanently disabling him. A third bullet
hits police officer Thomas Delahanty in the back, while a fourth strikes
he chest of Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy. As some people
rush to aid the victims, law enforcement personnel push Hinckley into a
police car.
SEE VIDEO CLIP OF ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION AND AFTERMATH [This 22-second clip comes "Pleading Insane," a documentary video in A & E Television Network's American Justice series. The clip is narrated by Bill Kurtis.]
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