Man Who Shot Reagan Wants People to 'Give Peace a Chance' Following Trump Assassination Attempt

John Hinckley Jr., who severely injured former president Ronald Reagan in a shooting in 1981, has seemingly condemned the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

In a tweet shared on Wednesday, July, 17, Hinckley wrote, "Violence is not the way to go. Give peace a chance."

Hinckley, 69, was arrested in March 1981 after he attempted to assassinate Reagan just months after his first inauguration. The president was left severely wounded in the shooting, which left him with internal bleeding, a punctured lung, and a broken rib.

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity and was finally released from psychiatric care in September 2016. At the time of his arrest, he was also noted for his infatuation with actress Jodie Foster, who he became obsessed with after seeing her as a 12-year-old prostitute in Martin Scorsese's 1976 film Taxi Driver.

Following his release, he has dedicated himself to art, including a YouTube channel where he shares his music. In an interview with CBS in 2022, he apologized to the Reagan family, Jodie Foster, and the family of James Brady, who was left paralyzed in the attempted assassination of the former president. He has repeatedly expressed remorse for his actions.

His plea for peace comes just days after a shooter attempted to assassinate Trump during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. While the former president escaped the incident with minimal injuries, he has since sought to capitalize on the situation with sneakers featuring a photo of him raising his fist in apparent defiance after the assassination attempt.

The shooter has since been identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks. He fired eight shots at Trump on Saturday, July 13 and only grazed him. He killed one audience member and critically injured two others.