As Reagan walked from the Washington Hilton Hotel to his limousine, John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots at the president, wounding four people. Though Reagan was not directly hit, a bullet ricocheted off the limousine and punctured one of his lungs.
Despite the serious injury, he quipped to his surgeons, "I just hope you're Republicans." One of the doctors reportedly replied, "Today, Mr. President, we're all Republicans."
Reagan remains the only sitting US president to have survived a gunshot wound.
In a strange coincidence, the father of the would-be assassin had been a prominent supporter of George H.W. Bush’s 1980 presidential campaign. This had not factored into Hinkley’s decision to kill Reagan, though. He had become obsessed with Jodie Foster after seeing the movie “Taxi Driver” and apparently believed that killing the president would impress her.
