10 after being forced into the presidential limousine

been by his side, it is likely the bullet would have only pierced his upper arm.”
10
After being forced into the presidential limousine by Jerry Parr who was the head of our
Secret Service unit, the limo started to head to the White House but was redirected to the George
Washington University Hospital after Reagan started to cough up blood.
11
Besides the President,
there were three others that were wounded by the six shots that John W. Hinckley got off.
President Ronald Reagan’s Press Secretary James S. Brady was shot in the head and immediately
6 “1981 – March.”
7 Report. Folder “Assassination Report [1 of 4].”
8 Ibid.
9 “March.” In Historic Documents of 1981 . Washington, DC: CQ Press, 1982, 95.
10 “Ronald Reagan.” In In the Crosshairs , 2003, 202.
11 Reagan, Ronald. An American Life . 1990, 259-260.

4
fell to the ground. 12 Brady’s injury was the most serious of all those wounded that day in the
attempt. It would take him most of 1981 to recover from his injuries.
13
Another person wounded by Hinckley was Secret Service agent, Timothy J. McCarthy.
He was shot in the right upper torso as he turned, screening the President with raised arms,
toward the sound of the shots.
14
The other person to be wounded was a District of Columbia
policeman named Thomas K. Delahanty. He was shot in the neck.
15
Brady and McCarthy both
were sent to George Washington University Hospital, while Delahanty was sent to the
Washington Hospital Center. 16 All three of these men and the president survived their injuries.
One of the other bullets that Hinckley shot off ricocheted off the armored limousine, while the
last bullet traveled across the street and passed through a window. 17
The President’s Condition and Recovery
Upon the President’s first assessment of himself after the shooting, he thought that he had
just broken his rib since Special Agent Parr had pushed him into the limousine and landed on top
of him to shield him from other shots.
18
After Parr got off him, according to Reagan’s
autobiography, in which he states, “I tried to sit up on the edge of the seat and was almost
paralyzed by pain. As I was straightening up, I had to cough hard and saw that the palm of my
hand was brimming with extremely red, frothy blood.”
19
At this point, Parr redirected the
presidential motorcade to the George Washington University Hospital. “Reagan felt he was
smothering and began to panic, going in and out of consciousness. Hinckley’s bullet had
12 Report. Folder “Assassination Report [1 of 4].”
13 “March.” 95.
14 Report. Folder “Assassination Report [1 of 4].”
15 “March.” 95.
16 Ibid.
17 Report. Folder “Assassination Report [1 of 4].”
18 Reagan, Ronald. An American Life . 1990, 259.
19 Reagan. An American Life . 259-60.

5
ricocheted off the limousine, hit Reagan under the left arm, striking a rib, then penetrated his
lung and stopped an inch from his heart.”
20
When the motorcade reached the hospital, Special Agents Parr and Shaddick helped
Reagan through the doors of the emergency room and onto a stretcher, after the President’s knees
buckled.