John Hinkley was eating breakfast at McDonald's. As he ate, he composed a letter to the actress Jody Foster. He said in his letter that he hoped to impress her with what he was about to do. He dropped the letter in a mailbox and went to the Washington Hilton Hotel where President Ronald Reagan was delivering a lunch address to the AFL-CIO with Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau

Reagan had been President exactly 63 days.

At 2:30 PM Reagan left the hotel and stopped to wave at a crowd of admirers.

Hinkley pulled a Röhm RG-14 .22 caliber pistol from his coat and fired six shots in three seconds

The first bullet hit White House Press Secretary James Brady in the head.

The second bullet hit District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty in the back.

The third bullet hit a building across the street

the fourth bullet hit Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy. who had leaped in front of the President, taking the bullet in the abdomen.

The fifth bullet hit the window of the Presidential limousine

The sixth bullet bullet ricocheted off the side of the limousine and hit President Reagan in his left armpit, grazing a rib and lodging in his lung, stopping nearly an inch from his heart.

Secret Service agents pushed President Reagan into the limousine and agent Jerry Parr ordered the driver to take them to the White House. Moments later Reagan began coughing blood. Blood had spattered his chest and chin. Agent Jerry Parr immediately ordered the driver to divert to George Washington University Hospital.

Reagan tried to walk into the Emergency Room but he collapsed and dropped to his knees. Nancy Reagan arrived at the Emergency Room moments later and Reagan said to her, "Honey, I forgot to duck."

Right before he went into surgery President Reagan said to the head of the trauma team, Dr. Joseph Giordano, "Please tell me you're a Republican."

Giordano, a liberal Democrat, replied, "Today Mr. President we're all Republicans."

Ronald Reagan remains the only President to survive an assasination attempt

thanks for the read

thanks Robin, i remember it well

Actually there was two attemps on President Bush. One was a grenade when he was visiting the Middle East but the attempted assasin didn't pull the pin.

29 years .... wow, now I feel old, I remember!

Shortly after his trial, Hinckley wrote that the shooting was "the greatest love offering in the history of the world," and was upset that Foster did not reciprocate his love.[14]

After being admitted, tests found that Hinckley was an "unpredictably dangerous" man who may harm himself, Jodie Foster or any other third party. In 1983 he told Penthouse that on a typical day he will

"see a therapist, answer mail, play (his) guitar, listen to music, play pool, watch television, eat lousy food and take delicious medication."[15]

He was allowed to leave the hospital for supervised visits with his parents in 1999, and longer unsupervised releases in 2000.[1] These privileges were revoked when he was found to have smuggled materials about Foster back into the hospital. Hinckley was later allowed supervised visits in 2004 and 2005. Court hearings were held in September 2005 on whether he could have expanded privileges to leave the hospital. Some of the testimony during the hearings centered on whether Hinckley is capable of having a normal relationship with a woman and, if not, whether that would have any bearing on what danger he would pose to society.

On December 30, 2005, a federal judge ruled that Hinckley would be allowed visits, supervised by his parents, to their home in Williamsburg, Virginia. The judge ruled that Hinckley could have up to three visits of three nights and then four visits of four nights, each depending on the successful completion of the last. All of the experts who testified at Hinckley's 2005 conditional release hearing, including the government experts, agreed that his depression and psychotic disorder were in full remission and that he should have some expanded conditions of release.

After requesting further freedoms including two one-week visits with his parents as well as a month long visit, the U.S. District Judge, Paul L. Friedman, denied that request on Wednesday, June 6, 2007; he did not deny the request out of a concern that Hinckley was not ready.

“ The reasons the court has reached this decision rest with the hospital, not with Mr. Hinckley... the hospital has not taken the steps it must take before any such transition can begin.”

On June 17, 2009, a Federal judge ruled that Hinckley would be given the ability to visit his mother for nine days at a time, rather than six, spend more time outside of the hospital, and even have a driver's license. This was done over the objections of the prosecutors who said that he was still a danger to others and had unhealthy and inappropriate thoughts about women. Records show that he has had sexual relations with two women, one who was married for a long time and another who has bipolar disorder. Hinckley recorded a song titled "Ballad of an Outlaw", which the prosecutors claim is "reflecting suicide and lawlessness."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Hinckley,_Jr.