It was the moment we almost lost another president to a bullet.
March 30, 1981. President Ronald Reagan had just given a speech at a Washington Hotel when John Hinckley Jr. fired off 6 rounds in an attempt to kill the president.
Secret Service agent Jerry Parr was in charge of Reagan’s safety that day. He was the one who pushed the president into the car.
There was just one minute and seven seconds from the time the first shot was fired until the last, and in those seconds, no one realized how badly the president had been injured.
"This story has been incomplete for 30 years. Ronald Reagan came very close to dying," said Del Wilber, author.
Washington Post reporter Del Wilber has just written a book about the assignation attempt called "Rawhide Down." Rawhide was Reagan’s code name.
On Monday, Parr and Wilber attended a book signing and forum at the Reagan Library.
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Agent Parr said he checked the president’s body for bullet wounds and didn't find any injuries until...
"He started spitting up bright red, frothy blood," said Parr.
But since Parr had checked the president, he was worried that maybe he had injured Reagan while trying to get him into the car.
Parr made the decision to go to the hospital rather than the White House, which was considered much safer if there was indeed a much larger assassination plot unfolding.
It was one of many decisions that saved Ronald Reagan's life.
