John Hinckley Jr calls Trump shooting at same hotel he shot Reagan ‘spooky’ | White House correspondents’ dinner shooting

The man who shot Ronald Reagan at the Washington Hilton in 1981 said it was “terrifying” for him to learn he was shot during a prestigious media gala attended by Donald Trump and top executives at the hotel on Saturday.

In an interview with TMZ Released on Monday, John Hinckley Jr. he also observed that “bad things continue to happen” at the hotel and argued that it “is not a safe place to hold large events.”

Hinckley’s voice was perhaps an unusual addition to the growing chorus Saturday at the Washington Hilton that implemented stricter measures than ever before and raised questions about the level of security keeping the president safe. But those steps did not prevent the cancellation of the White House press dinner after an armed guest shot at a Secret Service agent at an internal checkpoint, hitting the agent’s ballistic vest.

The remarks came 44 years after Hinckley, suffering from acute psychosis and hoping to attract the attention of actor Jodie Foster, shot Reagan with a gun.

Also injured in the shooting was then-president’s secretary, James Brady; a police officer; and a Secret Service agent.

Hinckley was found not guilty of the shooting by reason of insanity in 1982 and was ordered to live in a psychiatric hospital. Received full exemption from all mental health treatment and legal supervision restrictions in 2022.

TMZ approached Hinckley, 70, after Saturday’s violence at the Washington Hilton; There was a plaque here marking the location of the assassination attempt on Reagan. Hinckley took the opportunity to tell TMZ that he thought security at the Washington Hilton was “lax” when he shot Reagan and three others; this incident prompted the hotel to implement fortifications against another such attack.

He also told the outlet that he learned of the shooting outside the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday when a news alert popped up on his phone. He said he then began monitoring television coverage of the attack, which required the Secret Service to evacuate Trump, Melania Trump and several senior administration officials.

In addition to sharing his opinion about the safety of hosting events at the Washington Hilton, Hinckley described experiencing an “eerie” feeling when he realized the shooting “was taking place at the same hotel as mine.”

The suspect in Saturday’s attack, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, was arrested by Secret Service after shots were fired at him, but he was not hit. He is accused of attempting to assassinate the president, among other crimes.

The Echoing Hinckley manifesto attributed to Allen mocked the “wild” lack of security at the press dinner at the Washington Hilton.

Meanwhile, a statement from the Washington Hilton spokesperson is as follows: in question The hotel was operating under security protocols of the Secret Service, the agency responsible for protecting U.S. presidents.

Saturday wasn’t the first time a Trump-involved shooting had the public anticipating Hinckley’s response. Following an assassination attempt targeting Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania in July 2024, Hinckley wrote On social media platform X: “Violence is not the solution. Give peace a chance.”

In the years after his freedom, Hinckley attempted to pursue a second act as a folk musician and painter. In December, he published a memoir titled John Hinckley Jr: Who I Really Am.