7 US presidents who survived assassination attempts: From Andrew Jackson to Donald Trump
6. Ronald Reagan — March 30, 1981
Former President Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt just weeks after being sworn in for his first term, when he was shot by John Hinckley Jr. outside the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C.
Hinckley fired a .22-caliber revolver at Reagan and his entourage, seriously wounding the president and injuring then-press secretary James Brady and two law enforcement officers.
“President Reagan’s wounds were not noticed until he began to cough up blood. He was then taken to the George Washington University Hospital,” noted the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum.
“After twelve days in the hospital, he was able to return to the White House with a new commitment to changing the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.”
Hinckley said he carried out the shooting as part of his obsession with actress Jodie Foster and spent decades in psychiatric facilities before being released from custody in 2016.
The Washington Hilton is the same location where, 45 years later, Cole Allen would attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump and other federal officials.
Hinckley told TMZ in a recent interview that he considered it “spooky” that the two assassination attempts occurred at the same place, adding that he felt the hotel was “just not a secure place to hold big events.”
