Today is Tuesday, March 30th, 2021.

On this day in 1981, John Warnock Hinkley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald

Reagan.

Although the president survived the attack and fully recovered, others weren't so lucky.

Welcome to Today in True Crime, a Spotify original from Parcast. Due to the graphic nature of this case, listener discretion is advised.

This episode includes discussions of stalking, violence, and murder that some people may find offensive.

We advise extreme caution for children under 13.

Today we're covering the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.

Let's go back to Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981,

just before 2.30 in the afternoon.

Former Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan,

who'd been president of the United States for only 69 days,

had just delivered an address at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Reagan exited the hotel into the rainy early spring afternoon.

He was flanked by an entourage as they passed by hundreds of

excited people, hoping for a glimpse of the 70-year-old president. Reagan smiled effusively and lifted his

left arm in a wave, acknowledging his supporters. As the group angled toward the limousine waiting out front,

they didn't notice one man who was standing with a group of reporters. But 25-year-old John Hinkley, Jr., soon

got their attention by raising his 22-cali caliber revolver. Before Reagan even lowered his arm from the wave,

Hinkley emptied the six-bullet chamber in his direction.

Reagan later told Larry King that he thought someone had set off fireworks.

In the immediate chaos, the president's colleagues,

...