Hinckley, now 70, said that it was “spooky” to learn that Saturday’s shooting “took place at the same hotel as mine did” in an interview with TMZ published on Monday.
He’s not the only one to see echoes of his attack in the recent shooting, which has sparked renewed attention to that history. Here’s what to know about the 1981 assassination attempt.
What happened in 1981
On March 30, 1981, Reagan was leaving the Washington Hilton with a Secret Service detail after speaking to members of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. But before the President could reach his limousine where it was parked in front of the hotel, Hinckley, standing in a crowd of people waiting outside, opened fire.
The would-be assassin was tackled by a special agent within seconds, and Reagan was quickly pushed into the vehicle and driven away. But in that short window, Hinckley managed to get off six shots with his .22-caliber revolver—one of which, after ricocheting off Reagan’s limousine, hit the President under his left armpit, striking a rib, piercing a lung, and narrowly missing his heart.
Read the full article here
