Paul M. Krueger

U.S. President Ronald Reagan is shot in the chest outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John Hinckley Jr.; three others are wounded in the same incident.

---

ㅤOn March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was seriously wounded outside a Washington, D.C. hotel by John Hinckley Jr., who carried out the shooting in a delusional attempt to impress actress Jodie Foster. A ricocheted bullet punctured Reagan’s lung and caused severe internal bleeding, requiring emergency surgery. Three others were also struck and survived the attack, including White House press secretary James Brady, who suffered permanent, debilitating brain damage that ultimately caused his death decades later in 2014.

ㅤThe assassination attempt sparked brief political confusion at the White House, with Secretary of State Alexander Haig controversially declaring he was “in control” until Vice President George H. W. Bush could return to the capital, though the 25th Amendment was never formally invoked. Following a trial in 1982, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was confined to a psychiatric facility. He remained institutionalized for decades and avoided further charges related to Brady’s death before ultimately being discharged from care in 2016.