March 30, 1981
President Ronald Reagan has been shot and wounded after a lone gunman opened fire in Washington.
He is currently undergoing emergency surgery at George Washington University Hospital but there are unconfirmed reports he walked in unaided.
Initial reports claim he may have a punctured lung.
Five to six shots were fired as he left the Washington Hilton Hotel where he had been addressing a union convention, about one mile from the White House.
A man, firing at close range, also wounded White House Press Secretary James Brady in the head.
A Secret Service official and a Washington policeman were also injured before the gunman was pushed to the ground by police.
The president had appeared from the hotel smiling and walked towards his limousine turning momentarily to acknowledge calls from the waiting press.
A burst of gunfire was then heard before the president was bundled into a bullet proof limousine and whisked away.
First Lady Nancy Reagan is understood to be on her way to the hospital to visit her 70-year-old husband.
The attacker is described as being in his twenties and blonde.
He was pinned to the wall by secret service agents and he has now been arrested.
The assassination attempt has sent shock waves around the country where memories of the murder of president John F Kennedy remain vivid.
President Reagan has only been in office for 69 days and the attack leaves the running of the country in some confusion as his vice-president George Bush is currently on his way back from Texas.
Until the arrival of Vice-President Bush it is unclear who is in charge.
The American Stock Exchange has stopped trading and the Academy Awards have been postponed until tomorrow night in the wake of the attacks.
President Ronald Reagan has been shot and wounded after a lone gunman opened fire in Washington.
He is currently undergoing emergency surgery at George Washington University Hospital but there are unconfirmed reports he walked in unaided.
Initial reports claim he may have a punctured lung.
Five to six shots were fired as he left the Washington Hilton Hotel where he had been addressing a union convention, about one mile from the White House.
A man, firing at close range, also wounded White House Press Secretary James Brady in the head.
A Secret Service official and a Washington policeman were also injured before the gunman was pushed to the ground by police.
The president had appeared from the hotel smiling and walked towards his limousine turning momentarily to acknowledge calls from the waiting press.
A burst of gunfire was then heard before the president was bundled into a bullet proof limousine and whisked away.
First Lady Nancy Reagan is understood to be on her way to the hospital to visit her 70-year-old husband.
The attacker is described as being in his twenties and blonde.
He was pinned to the wall by secret service agents and he has now been arrested.
The assassination attempt has sent shock waves around the country where memories of the murder of president John F Kennedy remain vivid.
President Reagan has only been in office for 69 days and the attack leaves the running of the country in some confusion as his vice-president George Bush is currently on his way back from Texas.
Until the arrival of Vice-President Bush it is unclear who is in charge.
The American Stock Exchange has stopped trading and the Academy Awards have been postponed until tomorrow night in the wake of the attacks.
