The Story Of John Hinckley Jr., The Man Who Tried To Assassinate Reagan

In the immediate aftermath of his assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, Hinckley told authorities he had carried out the shooting in order to impress actress Jodie Foster, who was 18 at the time.

In 1976, Hinckley moved to Hollywood, where he became obsessed with the character of Travis Bickle, the protagonist of Martin Scorsese's film Taxi Driver. Bickle, played by Robert De Niro, is a mentally ill taxi driver who initially attempts to gain attention and retribution by assassinating a presidential candidate, only to ironically achieve heroic status by rescuing Foster's character, a victim of child sex trafficking.

Having read that Foster was enrolled at Yale, Hinckley traveled to New Haven and enrolled in a writing course. Although he was never able to introduce himself in person, he spoke with her twice on the phone; both times, Foster told him she had no interest in meeting or even speaking with him. 

Hinckley wrote her numerous letters, mostly demands for some form of acknowledgment. He left a long letter in his hotel room on the day he attempted to assassinate Reagan, professing his love and indicating he believed he might be killed in his attempt:

…Jodie, I would abandon this idea of getting Reagan in a second if I could only win your heart and live out the rest of my life with you, whether it be in total obscurity or whatever.

I will admit to you that the reason I'm going ahead with this attempt now is because I just cannot wait any longer to impress you. I've got to do something now to make you understand, in no uncertain terms, that I am doing all of this for your sake! By sacrificing my freedom and possibly my life, I hope to change your mind about me. This letter is being written only an hour before I leave for the Hilton Hotel. Jodie, I'm asking you to please look into your heart and at least give me the chance, with this historical deed, to gain your respect and love.

I love you forever,

John Hinckley

At 2:27 pm on March 30, 1981, Ronald Reagan emerged from the Washington Hilton Hotel and proceeded to walk towards his limo when John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots from a .22 caliber revolver in a mere 1.7 seconds.

Although Hinckley seriously wounded Press Secretary James Brady, Washington Police Officer Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy, the quick action of Secret Service Agent Jerry Parr, who shoved the President into the limousine, likely averted a clear shot from the assassin and allowed Reagan to escape seemingly unscathed.

However, Reagan had, in fact, been hit in the rib and, when he coughed up blood, Parr decided to divert the motorcade to a hospital instead of the White House. Doctors determined that 70-year-old Reagan was in shock, and his blood pressure was dangerously low following a massive amount of internal bleeding. Reagan lost half of his blood supply before doctors discovered the bullet and helped stabilize his condition.

The decision to divert to a hospital and the fact that Hinckley's exploding cartridge failed to detonate most likely saved Ronald Reagan's life.

John Hinckley Jr. was the youngest of three children born to a wealthy Texas family who had made their money in oil. Following his high school graduation, Hinckley attended Texas Tech but dropped out and moved to Hollywood. 

While in Hollywood, he attended multiple screenings of Taxi Driver while attempting to launch a songwriting career. At this time, Hinckley created a fictitious girlfriend named Lynn Collins who was based on Cybill Shepherd's character in Taxi Driver. He also began dressing as Robert De Niro's character and keeping a diary. 

In letters home to his family, Hinckley claimed that Collins had encouraged him to write a novel, which was when he asked his parents for $3,600 to take a writing course at Yale University. Hinckley never attended the class or wrote a novel, however - instead, he attempted to make contact with Jodie Foster.

Hinckley reportedly used his parents' $3,600 for living expenses and the purchase of his first gun. After running out of money and returning home in 1980, only a year before his assassination attempt on Reagan, Hinckley took a photo of himself holding a gun to his head.

John Hinckley Jr. reportedly attempted suicide on at least three occasions following the events of March 30, 1981. The most serious attempt occurred on February 13, 1983, when Hinckley was rushed to intensive care after being found on the floor of his room at St. Elizabeth's, the psychiatric hospital where he was confined after being found not guilty by reason of insanity. 

Hinckley apparently stockpiled his routine medication over time and attempted an overdose. His face was blue when he was removed from St. Elizabeth's via ambulance, and he was on a respirator for two days afterwards but eventually made a full recovery. 

Prior to this incident, in May 1981, Hinckley had overdosed on Tylenol while confined at the federal correctional facility in Butner, NC. Awaiting trial in November 1981 at Fort Meade, MD, he also attempted to hang himself. Additionally, some sources have reported that, prior to his assassination attempt on Reagan, Hinckley overdosed on medication while visiting his parents in Colorado.

In the final months of Jimmy Carter's Presidency, Hinckley's movements coincided with Carter's, including the president's campaign trip to Nashville, TN, on October 9, 1980. On that same day, Hinckley was arrested when he attempted to board an airplane at Nashville's Metropolitan Airport with three handguns in his luggage. 

Subsequently, the FBI determined after the Reagan assassination attempt that Hinckley had been following Carter throughout his 1980 reelection campaign.

No connection between Hinckley's arrest and  Carter's trip to Nashville was ever made, and authorities never notified the Secret Service of this development. Hinckley responded to the confiscation of his weapons by returning to Dallas and buying two more .22 caliber handguns, including the weapon he used on Reagan.

Several remarkable connections exist between the family of John Hinckley Jr. and the family of George H.W. Bush, who was Reagan's vice president.

Hinckley's father, John Hinckley Sr., was the CEO of Vanderbilt Energy, a Texas-based oil and gas company. He was a supporter of Bush's 1980 presidential campaign and reportedly a personal friend of the vice president.

Additionally, Neil Bush, the vice president's son, was scheduled to have dinner with John Hinckley's brother, Scott, at the younger Bush's home in Denver on the day after the shooting. The dinner was subsequently canceled. The FBI allegedly never talked to any member of the Bush family regarding the Hinckleys.