40 years ago and just 70 days into his first term, President Ronald Reagan and three others were shot and wounded outside the Washington Hilton.
The shooter, John Hinckley Jr., was immediately captured at the scene.
Reagan’s press secretary, James Brady, who was walking behind Mr Reagan, crumpled to the footpath with a bullet wound in his forehead.
Timothy McCarthy, a Secret Service agent, was shot in the back.
Thomas Delahanty, a Washington policeman, was shot in the neck.
Jim on History reviews the live ABC News coverage of that day, as Jim Heath offers his own insight.
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