This article originally appeared on theDaily Caller News Foundationand was republished with permission.
John Hinckley, the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, spoke out about Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting.
In an interview Sunday, HinckleytoldTMZ that the Washington Hilton Hotel should not be hosting such events, “because bad things keep happening.”
“It’s just not a secure place to hold big events,” he said.
Hinckley, who shot Reagan and 3 others in March 1981 in a failed assassination attempt, said that security was “lax” at the time.
He noted that he was able to sneak in by blending in with a crowd of reporters waiting outside the hotel in anticipation of Reagan’s exit. He claimed Secret Service agents didn’t approach him to question whether he was a reporter during their sweeps of the area, according to TMZ.
Hinckley told the outlet that a simple check to verify the identity of reporters would have triggered his quick departure from the crowd because he did not have any press credentials.
His plot would have been exposed, and things could have ended differently, had those measures been in place.
Hinckley told TMZ he learned about the Saturday’s assassination attempt when the news flashed on his phone, and said it was “spooky” to flick on the television and see that the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting “took place at the same hotel as mine did.”
The most recent shooting sparked concern about security and safety, with many left wondering how the suspected shooter, Cole Allen, managed to fire several shots, including one that struck a Secret Service agent. Several agents returned fire, and the injured guard was protected by a bulletproof vest. Allen was arrested and is facing federal charges, but is reportedly not cooperating with authorities.
Source: The Vigilant Fox
