It's the 30th anniversary of the attempt on President Ronald Reagan's life, and INSIDE EDITION has video that provides a clear picture of what happened the day John Hinckley, Jr. shot the president.
After 30 years, it remains a landmark moment in the history of the United States: the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981.
Rare unedited video captures the chaos in stunning clarity. Believe it or not, the video sat on a shelf in a Washington video archive until just recently. It was found among tapes that were about to be thrown out.
On the video you can see Reagan's press secretary, James Brady, in the instant that he was struck in the head by the bullet that would change his life. He remains paralyzed on the left side of his body to this day.
The camera kept rolling and the footage shows the heart-stopping sights and sounds after the shooting. Secret Service agents called repeatedly for a police car to haul away shooter John Hinckley, Jr., who was being restrained behind a pack of cops and federal agents.
Brady, Special Agent Timothy McCarthy, and Washington, D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty were wounded and lay on the ground.
Two minutes and ten seconds after the first shots rang out, the gunman was led away. Incredibly the police officers and agents around him couldn't open the door of the first patrol car, so they had to take him to a second patrol car.
At the same time, an ambulance arrived to aid the three wounded men.
The president was rushed to the hospital in his car seconds after the shooting.
The historic event is still as shocking now, three decades later, as it was in 1981.
John Hinckley, Jr. was found not guilty by reason of insanity and remains in a federal psychiatric facility.
