Reagan Assassination Attempt

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts: Fast Fact Sheet
Fast, fun facts and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) about the Reagan Assassination Attempt.

When was Ronald Reagan Shot? The Reagan Assassination Attempt occured on March 30, 1981, just two months after the President's inauguration

Where was the Reagan Assassination Attempt? The Reagan Assassination Attempt took place at 2:25 p.m. as the President left a hotel in Washington D.C.

Who was the president shot by? The President was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.

Why did John Hinckley shoot the president? John Hinckley, Jr. shot President Ronald Reagan in a misguided attempt to impress Hollywood actress Jodie Foster

What was the famous quote made by President Reagan after the attempt? After the shooting President Ronald Reagan famously said to his wife Nancy, "Honey I forgot to Duck".

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts for kids
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Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts for kids

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 1: Ronald Reagan was inaugurated as the 40th American President on January 20, 1981, with George H. W. Bush as Vice President. Just 69 days into his presidency, on March 30, 1981, he was subject to an assassination attempt by John Hinckley, Jr.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 2: On March 21, 1981, just nine days before the assassination attempt,  the new President and his wife Nancy, visited Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. where the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln had taken place on April 14, 1865.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 3: President Ronald Reagan later recalled his feelings at his visit to Ford's Theatre before the assassination attempt:

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 4: On March 30, 1981 the president delivered a luncheon address to union representatives at the Washington Hilton Hotel. He then made his way to presidential limousine via the secure, enclosed passageway called "President's Walk", which had been built after the JFK Assassination in 1963. 

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 5: Waiting outside the hotel was an unscreened crowd of supporters and representatives from the media lining the 30 feet walk to his waiting limousine. The unscreened crowd consisting of about 300 peoplewere standing 15 ft (4.6 m) from the president, separated by just a rope line.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 6: At 2:25 p.m., as the president was approaching his limousine, a member of the cheering and waving crowd, John Hinckley, Jr., fired a Rohm RG-14 .22 long rifle blue steel revolver six times in 1.7 seconds. The gun had been purchased by John Hinckley ten days earlier on October 13, 1980 in Dallas, Texas.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 7: One of the bullets hit the president in the left side of his chest by a bullet that had ricocheted off a panel of the limousine. Secret Service Agent Jerry Parr pushed the President, body-sheltered by Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, into the presidential limousine.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 8: The President initially  thought that Jerry Parr had broken one of his ribs when he pushed him into the car but then the agent noticed that the President was having difficulty breathing and bright frothy blood began to come from his mouth.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 9: Timothy McCarthy took a bullet shielding the president and was shot in the abdomen. Timothy McCarthy later received the NCAA Award of Valor in 1982in recognition of his bravery during the assassination attempt.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 10: Thomas Delahanty, a District of Columbia police officer, was hit in the back of his neck as he turned to protect the president. Delahanty fell to the ground next to White House Press Secretary James Brady. Delahanty was later cited for heroism for his effort to protect the President, and was forced to retire from the Washington police force due to his disability.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 11: James Brady had been shot in the head above his left eye and was seriously wounded. Brady was paralyzed on the left side of his body until his death aged 73 on August 4, 2014, when authorities declared his death a homicide.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 12: Following the shooting the president was rushed by limousine to the George Washington Hospital. McCarthy and Brady were taken to the same hospital by ambulance and Thomas Delahanty was rushed to the Washington Hospital Center.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 13: John Hinckley, Jr. was immediately subdued by secret service and police officers and taken to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). John Hinckley was turned over to the FBI and charged with the attempted assassination of the President.

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Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts for kids

Facts about the Reagan Assassination Attempt for kids
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Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts for kids

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 14: John Hinckley, Jr., was born May 29, 1955, in Ardmore, Oklahoma and was raised in Texas and had undergone psychiatric treatment for depression.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 15: John Hinckley became obsessed with the 1976 movie 'Taxi Driver' in which the lead character Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro, plotted to assassinate a presidential candidate. His interest in the movie also extended to an unhealthy interest in the JFK Assassination.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 16: His obsession with 'Taxi Driver' led John Hinckley to develop an infatuation with actress Jodie Foster, who played a child prostitute in the movie. John Hinckley began to stalk Jodie Foster when she attended Yale University, invading her privacy, slipping love poems and notes under her door, and repeatedly making telephone calls to her at the university.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 17: John Hinckley Jr. had rented room number 312 at the Park Central Hotel on March 29, 1980, the day before the Reagan assassination attempt.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 18: A search of the room uncovered numerous items of evidence against John Hinckley including a love letter to Jodie Foster in which he stated he was going to kill President Reagan as an expression of his love for her. Refer to the John Hinckley Letter to Jodie Foster

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 19: Dr. Joseph Giordano headed the trauma team and played a key role in saving the President’s life at George Washington University Hospital.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 20: Dr. Benjamin Aaron was head of GW’s cardiovascular and thoracic and made the decision to operate on President Ronald Reagan when the bleeding from the President’s chest would not stop. The President was then taken to the operating room where he underwent surgery to remove the bullet.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 21: After John Hinckley’s attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, the Vice President, George H. W. Bush was immediately flown on Air Force Two to Washington from Texas. Bush was advised to proceed directly to the White House by helicopter, but he rejected the idea, responding, “Only the President lands on the South Lawn.” Vice President Bush reacted to the crisis calmly and was ready to face any events that might lay ahead.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 22: The Reagan assassination attempt by John Hinckley did not deter the President. He left hospital four days after being shot. He never lost his sense of humor and after the shooting famously said to his wife Nancy, "Honey I forgot to Duck".

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 23: On April 28, 1981, less than a month after the shooting, President Ronald Reagan delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress on his economic program. 

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 24: John Hinckley Jr. went to trial in 1982, charged with 13 offenses. After seven weeks of testimony and three days of deliberation by the jury, John Hinckley Jr. was found not guilty by reason of insanity on June 21, 1982.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 25: John Hinckley Jr. was confined at St. Elizabeths federally operated psychiatric hospital in Washington D.C., where he remains to this day.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 26: In 1987 letters were found in his room that showed he continued his deep obsession with Jodie Foster. Federal prosecutors have consistently opposed the release of John Hinckley.

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts - 27: President Reagan went on to serve in office until January 20, 1989 and is one of the most popular Presidents of the United States

Reagan Assassination Attempt Facts for kids

Reagan Assassination Attempt - President Ronald Reagan Video
The article on the Reagan Assassination Attempt provides detailed facts and a summary of one of the important events during his first presidential term in office. The following Ronald Reagan video will give you additional important facts and dates about the political events experienced by the 40th American President whose presidency spanned from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989.

Reagan Assassination Attempt

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