Rawhide Down: The 30th Anniversary of President Reagan’s Assasination Attempt

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    Secret Service agents and D.C. police officers rushed at Hinckley as he unleashed a fusillade of bullets, but they were too late. Hinckley got off six shots in just 1.7 seconds; his bullets struck four people, including the president. (Courtesy Ronald Reagan Library)

    Hour 2

    Thirty years ago today, President Reagan was shot outside the Washington Hilton hotel by John Hinckley Jr. Reagan didn’t know he was shot at first, but a Secret Service agent noticed blood on the 40th president’s lip and rushed him to the hospital, where it took a doctor to discover the bullet hole in Reagan’ side to confirm he was hit. The president went on to a swift, historic recovery. Washington Post reporter DEL QUENTIN WILBER joins us to discuss the first detailed account of that frantic day – Reagan turns out to be the only serving U.S. president who survived an assassin’s bullet. Wilber’s book about the assassination attempt is Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan.

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    [audio: 033011_110630.mp3]

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