Shooting at Trump dinner echoes Reagan assassination attempt at same hotel

Reagan was critically wounded by John Hinckley Jr. as he was leaving the Washington Hilton on March 30, 1981.

The bullet pierced his lung and caused severe internal bleeding.

Reagan, then 69, lost up to 40% of his blood and his life was in danger, but doctors managed to save him.

At the time, Reagan had been president for only 69 days.

Three other people were wounded in the attack: veteran Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and White House press secretary James Brady, who remained partially paralyzed and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

The shooter, 25-year-old John Warnock Hinckley Jr., was trying to draw the attention of famous actress Jodie Foster.

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington on April 25 after an armed man tried to breach security.

Law enforcement identified the shooting suspect as 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen of California.

The Washington Post, citing its sources, reported that the suspect was not wounded and was taken to Howard University Hospital.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said the suspect would appear in court on April 27 and was expected to face a “multitude” of charges.

Trump was wounded in an assassination attempt in July 2024 while speaking at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, during the presidential election campaign. A bullet grazed his ear, and several spectators were killed.

On Sept. 15 of that year, a man with a rifle was arrested near Trump’s golf course in West Palm Beach as Trump played golf. He was sentenced to life in prison.

U.S. Secret Service agents shot and killed an armed man on Feb. 22, 2026, after he breached the security perimeter of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.