On This Day in 1981

On March 30, 1981, President Reagan was shot by would-be assassin John Hinckley. If there was any mention of that event in any of the major news media in Washington today, I didn't see it.

The President "took a round" in the chest, as Secretary of State Alexander Haig put it to the White House press corps later that day, when Hinckley fired a .22 revolver at Reagan six times as he left the Hilton Hotel after addressing an AFL-CIO conference.

Hinckley hit not only Reagan, but also White House press secretary James Brady, Washington DC Police Officer Thomas Delahanty, and U.S. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy. All four of them survived, which must say something about the luck of the Irish.

As for Hinckley, he was was found not guilty by reason of insanity on June 21, 1982.