The Attempted Assassination of Ronald Reagan
On March 30, 1981 (32 years ago today) President Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest, outside of a Washington DC hotel, by John Hinckley Jr. in an attempted assassination. The event occurred 69 days into Reagan's presidency. Reagan had just completed a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Reagan and three others were shot and wounded. No one was killed, but Reagan's press secretary James Brady was left paralyzed and permanently disabled.
Reagan suffered a punctured lung and experienced heavy internal bleeding. Prompt medical attention allowed him to recover quickly. No formal invocation of presidential succession took place, although Secretary of State Alexander Haig caused some controversy when he incorrectly stated "I am in control here" as Vice President George H. W. Bush returned to Washington.
Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remains confined to a psychiatric facility.
Following is Reagan's own account of the incident, taken from his 1990 autobiography entitled An American Life at pages 259-60:
My speech at the Hilton Hotel was not riotously received - I think most of the audience were Democrats - but at least they gave me polite applause.
After the speech, I left the hotel through a side entrance and passed a line of press photographers and TV cameras. I was almost to the car when I heard what sounded like two or three firecrackers over my left - just a small fluttering sound, pop, pop, pop.
I turned and said "What the hell's that?"
Just then, Jerry Parr, the head of our Secret Service unit, grabbed me by the waist and literally hurled me into the back of the limousine. I landed on my face atop the arm rest, across the backseat, and Jerry jumped on top of me. When he landed, I felt a pain in my upper back that was unbelievable. It was the most excruciating pain I had ever felt.
"Jerry," I said, "get off, I think you've broken one of my ribs."
"The White House," Jerry told the driver, then scrambled off me and got on the jump seat at the car took off.
I tried to sit up on the edge of the seat and was almost paralyzed by pain. As I straightened up, I had to cough hard and saw that the palm of my hand was brimming with extremely red, frothy blood.
"You not only broke a rib, I think the rib punctured my lung," I said.
Jerry looked at the frothy bubbles and told the driver to head for George Washington University Hospital instead of the White House.
By then my handkerchief was sopped with blood and he handed me his. Suddenly, I realized I could hardly breathe. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get enough air. I was frightened and started to panic a little. I was not able to inhale enough air.
We pulled in front of the hospital emergency entrance and I was pulled out of the limo and into the emergency room. A nurse was coming to meet me and I told her I was having trouble breathing. The all of a sudden my knees turned rubbery. The next thing I knew I was lying face up on a gurney and my brand new pin-striped suit was being cut off me, never to be worn again.
The pain near my ribs was still excruciating, but what worried me most was that I still could not get enough air, even after the doctors placed a breathing tube in my throat. Every time I tried to inhale, I seemed to get less air. I remember looking up from the gurney, trying to focus my eyes on the square ceiling tiles and praying. Then I guess I passed out for a few minutes.
I was lying on the gurney, only half conscious, when I realized that someone was holding my hand. It was a soft feminine hand. I felt it come up and touch mine and then hold on tight to it. It gave me a wonderful feeling. Even now I find it difficult to explain how reassuring, how wonderful it felt.
It must have been the hand of a nurse kneeling very close to the gurney, but I couldn't see her. I started asking, "Who's holding my hand?" When I didn't hear any response, I said, "Does Nancy know about us?"
Once I opened my eyes and saw Nancy looking down at me.
"Honey," I said, "I forgot to duck," borrowing Jack Dempsey's line to his wife the night he was beaten by Gene Tunney for the heavyweight championship.
Reagan suffered a punctured lung and experienced heavy internal bleeding. Prompt medical attention allowed him to recover quickly. No formal invocation of presidential succession took place, although Secretary of State Alexander Haig caused some controversy when he incorrectly stated "I am in control here" as Vice President George H. W. Bush returned to Washington.
Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remains confined to a psychiatric facility.
Following is Reagan's own account of the incident, taken from his 1990 autobiography entitled An American Life at pages 259-60:
My speech at the Hilton Hotel was not riotously received - I think most of the audience were Democrats - but at least they gave me polite applause.
After the speech, I left the hotel through a side entrance and passed a line of press photographers and TV cameras. I was almost to the car when I heard what sounded like two or three firecrackers over my left - just a small fluttering sound, pop, pop, pop.
I turned and said "What the hell's that?"
Just then, Jerry Parr, the head of our Secret Service unit, grabbed me by the waist and literally hurled me into the back of the limousine. I landed on my face atop the arm rest, across the backseat, and Jerry jumped on top of me. When he landed, I felt a pain in my upper back that was unbelievable. It was the most excruciating pain I had ever felt.
"Jerry," I said, "get off, I think you've broken one of my ribs."
"The White House," Jerry told the driver, then scrambled off me and got on the jump seat at the car took off.
I tried to sit up on the edge of the seat and was almost paralyzed by pain. As I straightened up, I had to cough hard and saw that the palm of my hand was brimming with extremely red, frothy blood.
"You not only broke a rib, I think the rib punctured my lung," I said.
Jerry looked at the frothy bubbles and told the driver to head for George Washington University Hospital instead of the White House.
By then my handkerchief was sopped with blood and he handed me his. Suddenly, I realized I could hardly breathe. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get enough air. I was frightened and started to panic a little. I was not able to inhale enough air.
We pulled in front of the hospital emergency entrance and I was pulled out of the limo and into the emergency room. A nurse was coming to meet me and I told her I was having trouble breathing. The all of a sudden my knees turned rubbery. The next thing I knew I was lying face up on a gurney and my brand new pin-striped suit was being cut off me, never to be worn again.
The pain near my ribs was still excruciating, but what worried me most was that I still could not get enough air, even after the doctors placed a breathing tube in my throat. Every time I tried to inhale, I seemed to get less air. I remember looking up from the gurney, trying to focus my eyes on the square ceiling tiles and praying. Then I guess I passed out for a few minutes.
I was lying on the gurney, only half conscious, when I realized that someone was holding my hand. It was a soft feminine hand. I felt it come up and touch mine and then hold on tight to it. It gave me a wonderful feeling. Even now I find it difficult to explain how reassuring, how wonderful it felt.
It must have been the hand of a nurse kneeling very close to the gurney, but I couldn't see her. I started asking, "Who's holding my hand?" When I didn't hear any response, I said, "Does Nancy know about us?"
Once I opened my eyes and saw Nancy looking down at me.
"Honey," I said, "I forgot to duck," borrowing Jack Dempsey's line to his wife the night he was beaten by Gene Tunney for the heavyweight championship.