Assassination attempt Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan

1 assassination attempt

1.1 speaking engagement @ washington hilton hotel
1.2 shooting
1.3 george washington university hospital

assassination attempt

on march 21, 1981, new president ronald reagan , wife nancy visited ford s theatre in washington, d.c. fundraising event. reagan recalled, looked @ presidential box above stage abe lincoln had been sitting night shot , felt curious sensation ... thought secret service protection had, still possible had enough determination close enough president shoot him.

speaking engagement @ washington hilton hotel

on march 28, hinckley arrived in washington, d.c. bus , checked park central hotel. noticed reagan s schedule published in washington star , decided time act. hinckley knew might killed during assassination attempt, , wrote did not mail letter foster 2 hours prior attempt on president s life. in letter, said hoped impress magnitude of action , abandon idea of getting reagan in second if win heart , live out rest of life you.

on march 30, reagan delivered luncheon address afl–cio representatives @ washington hilton hotel. hotel considered safest venue in washington because of secure, enclosed passageway called president s walk , built after 1963 assassination of john f. kennedy. reagan entered building through passageway around 1:45 p.m., waving crowd of news media , citizens. secret service had required him wear bulletproof vest events, reagan not wearing 1 speech, because public exposure 30 feet (9 m) between hotel , limousine, , agency did not require vests agents day. no 1 saw hinckley behaving in unusual way; witnesses reported him fidgety , agitated apparently confused hinckley person secret service had been monitoring.

shooting

at 2:27 p.m., reagan exited hotel through president s walk , t street nw exit toward waiting limousine hinckley waited within crowd of admirers. secret service had extensively screened attending president s speech. in colossal mistake , agency allowed unscreened group stand within 15 ft (4.6 m) of him, behind rope line. unexpectedly, reagan passed right in front of hinckley. believing never better chance, hinckley fired röhm rg-14 .22lr blue steel revolver 6 times in 1.7 seconds, missing president 6 shots. first bullet hit white house press secretary james brady in head , second hit district of columbia police officer thomas delahanty in of neck turned protect reagan. hinckley had clear shot @ president, third bullet overshot him , hit window of building across street. special agent in charge jerry parr pushed reagan limousine, fourth bullet hit secret service agent tim mccarthy in abdomen spread body on reagan make himself target. fifth bullet hit bullet-resistant glass of window on open side door of limousine. sixth , final bullet ricocheted off armored side of limousine , hit president in left underarm, grazing rib , lodging in lung, causing partially collapse, , stopping less inch (25 mm) heart. parr s prompt reaction had saved reagan being hit in head.

after shooting, alfred antenucci, cleveland, ohio, labor official stood nearby hinckley, first respond. saw gun , hit hinckley in head, pulling shooter down ground. within 2 seconds agent dennis mccarthy (no relation agent timothy mccarthy) dove onto hinckley others threw him ground; intent on protecting hinckley avoid happened lee harvey oswald, mccarthy had strike 2 citizens force them release him. agent robert wanko (misidentified steve wanko in newspaper report) took uzi submachine gun briefcase cover president s evacuation , deter potential group attack.

the day after shooting, hinckley s gun given atf, traced origin. in 16 minutes, agents found gun had been purchased @ rocky s pawn shop in dallas, texas. had been loaded 6 devastator brand cartridges, contained small aluminum , lead azide explosive charges designed explode on contact; bullet hit brady 1 exploded. on april 2, after learning others explode @ time, volunteer doctors wearing bulletproof vests removed bullet delahanty s neck.

george washington university hospital


audio of secret service radio traffic

after secret service first announced shots fired on radio network @ 2:27 p.m. reagan—codename rawhide —was taken away agents in limousine ( stagecoach ). @ first, no 1 knew had been shot, , parr stated rawhide ok...we re going crown (the white house), preferred medical facilities unsecured hospital.

reagan in great pain bullet struck rib, , believed rib had cracked when parr pushed him limousine. when agent checked him gunshot wounds, however, reagan coughed bright, frothy blood. although president believed had cut lip, parr believed cracked rib had punctured reagan s lung , ordered motorcade divert nearby george washington university hospital, secret service periodically inspected use. limousine arrived there less 4 minutes after leaving hotel, while other agents took hinckley dc jail, , nancy reagan ( rainbow ) left white house hospital.

although parr had requested stretcher, none ready @ hospital, , did not keep stretcher @ emergency room s entrance. reagan exited limousine , insisted on walking. reagan acted casual , smiled @ onlookers walked in. while entered hospital unassisted, once inside president complained of difficulty breathing, knees buckled, , went down on 1 knee; parr , others assisted him emergency room. physician president, daniel ruge, arrived reagan; believing president might have had heart attack, insisted hospital s trauma team, , not himself or specialists elsewhere, operate on him treat other patient. when hospital employee asked reagan aide michael deaver patient s name , address, when deaver stated 1600 pennsylvania did worker realize president of united states in emergency room.

the team, led joseph giordano, cut off reagan s thousand dollar custom-made suit examine him, reagan s anger. military officers, including 1 carried nuclear football, unsuccessfully tried prevent fbi agents confiscating suit, reagan s wallet, , other possessions evidence; gold codes card in wallet, , fbi did not return until 2 days later. medical personnel found reagan s systolic blood pressure 60 versus normal 140, indicating in shock, , knew 70-year-olds in president s condition not survive. reagan in excellent physical health, however, , shot .22 caliber instead of larger .38 first feared. treated him intravenous fluids, oxygen, tetanus toxoid, , chest tubes, , surprised parr—who still believed had cracked president s rib—by finding entrance gunshot wound. brady , wounded agent mccarthy operated on near president; when wife arrived in emergency room, reagan remarked her, honey, forgot duck , borrowing boxer jack dempsey s line wife night beaten gene tunney. while intubated, scribbled nurse, in all, d rather in philadelphia , borrowing w. c. fields line. although reagan came close death, team s quick action—and parr s decision drive hospital instead of white house—likely saved president s life, , within 30 minutes reagan left emergency room surgery normal blood pressure.

the chief of thoracic surgery, benjamin l. aaron, decided perform thoracotomy lasting 105 minutes because bleeding persisted. ultimately, reagan lost on half of blood volume in emergency room , during surgery, removed bullet. in operating room, reagan removed oxygen mask joke, hope republicans. doctors , nurses laughed, , giordano, liberal democrat, replied, today, mr. president, republicans. reagan s post-operative course complicated fever, treated multiple antibiotics. surgery routine enough predicted reagan able leave hospital in 2 weeks , return work @ oval office within month.