Various Radio News Reports on President Ronald Reagan's Assassination Attempt (March 30, 1981)

[Music] President Reagan was taken to the George Washington Hospital in Washington uh he he apparently walked in under his own power at least that's one of the reports we've had uh the president was shot in the left side of the chest uh his condition is stable uh the bullet according to one report from ABC's Joe bton is still in his body it was uh under his left arm uh we do not know at this time whether or not any surgery has been performed whether doctors plan to remove it or just exactly what the situation is there other than reports from ABC's Vic Radner and some others have indicated that the president is not in any immediate danger white spokesman said that doctors were deciding whether or not to operate on the president remove the bullet and uh ABC News quoted one of the doctors as saying that one of Reagan's lungs had partially collapsed now we don't know exactly any more about that than that the doctors of course are carrying out a close examination of the president there's a whole whole group of them there we don't know exactly how long that's going to take when we'll have the official word whether or not the president may be moved from George Washington Hospital to one of the other hospitals in the area uh Bethesda naval hospital of course which has a tremendous complex and a lot of extra equipment a waler reed Hospital which is equipped the same way we just don't know that it's all too soon but we do know the president uh is in stable condition that he was shot on the left side of the chest and that Mrs Reagan is with him and we also do know Joe Templeton that Vice President Bush is still on on the ground there in Fort Worth Texas he's due to leave in about 15 or 20 minutes and uh what kind of a flight time would he have out from there would you estimate from 4 well I would think probably it'd be a four or five hour flight I would think Bob back to if he leaves about 4:30 or so eastern time we would expect him to be in Washington sometime later in the evening and then uh by that time of course more may be known we do know a good deal at this point as to what did take place but as Joe templon just said the man uh the man they have in custody is identified as Mr Hanley of uh ever Colorado town a fairly small town apparently and uh John warock Hinkley Jr uh the age given one of the stories I've seen Bob is 22 I don't know how accurate it is you know of course by now that the authorities will be running down to check his background whether or not he's been in the service what his fingerprints indicate and so on and so forth yeah we indicate 22 on one account 33 on another account so we'll we'll wait and see the exact identity uh which we do have and the exact motive which we do not have as of yet that of course is the big unanswered question what provoked this man the alleged asent to pull a gone out in fire shots at President Reagan word from presidential adviser Lyn Niger I can confirm that the president has been shot once in the left chest the bullet entered from from his left side he is in stable condition he is conscious and Mrs Reagan is with him and at this moment we have nothing further to say can you tell us shot I cannot we we know that Mr Brady was shot uh uh we I have no report on his condition at this time not to surgery I surgery not at this moment is he going into surgery I cannot tell you that he yes he is conscious the president is conscious and it was one wound in one one wound in the left chest they did not hit the heart today's shooting occurred outside the Washington Hilton hotel as President Reagan was leaving after addressing the AFL CIO building and construction trade unions the Secret Service says a white male was arrested after sh six shots were fired he's been identified as 22-year-old John Hinkley Jr of Evergreen Colorado reporters had called the president over to them to ask a question about the situation in Poland when the shooting broke out this is James limbach in Washington that was the sound today outside the Washington Hilton Hotel where President Reagan was wounded in the left chest in an assassination attempt to recap briefly the Secret Service identifies the suspect as 22-year-old John warau Hinkley Jr of Evergreen color we've been informed that police in that Colorado City say they have no criminal record on hinley White House spokesman David ggen has just brief reporters at the executive Mansion B radio correspondent Walter Rogers has that story President Reagan was shot once in the left side of his chest and he is said to be in stable condition at George Washington University Hospital doctors are now trying to decide whether to operate to remove the bullet presidential assistant Dave ggen brief reporters at the White House gurgen saying Mrs Reagan is now the president's side and adding we have been informed by Jim Baker that the president walked into the hospital Vice President Bush is now flying back to Washington meanwhile here at the White House Secretary of State hay Secretary of the Treasury Regan Secretary of State Weinberger and attorney general Smith have gathered to await developments Walter Rogers at the White House also wounded in today's attack at the Washington Hilton Hotel where a DC police officer whose name we do not have a secret service agent again unidentified and White House news secretary Jim Brady as we mentioned earlier in this report presidential adviser Lyn knigger says the condition of news secretary Brady is unknown at this point reaction is now coming in from Capitol Hill Senator Ted Kennedy who lost two brothers to assassins bullet said our prayers are with the victims Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker immediately adjourned the Senate after receiving word that the president had been wounded this is the Associated Press radio network the revolver says the service is a 38 caliber revolver the cabinet members have been assembled at the white house uh Secretary of State ha the vice president is on his way back from Texas but there has been no decision according to Bill plant that he is to assume office as president or as acting president at the moment we do have uh a report uh and a reaction from prime minister Margaret Thatcher in Britain she heard the news of the shooting of the president she issued a statement from 10 Downing Street uh Tony Brunton has a report on that from London prime minister Margaret Thatcher heard the news at number 10 Downing Street sometime within the last hour and she immediately sent a message to President Reagan in this message just released she said she was shocked to hear of the assassination attempt she was she put it very distressed to learn of the injuries and the wounding and she prayed that his injuries were not serious she said and she also said her thoughts were with Mrs Reagan and the rest of the family and finally this message from Downing Street continues she saids says her sympathy goes to members of the staff who were wounded or hit Tony Bron CBS News London continuing our coverage now of the attempted assassination of President Reagan the shooting of President Reagan we go now to my colleague weed Collins who's been keeping track of it all re like you I have been trying to keep track of it all it's one of those confusing afternoons that began with what was good news if you were the president because the White House said at first that he was not hit and was not hurt in fact the first word we got was that he was being taken in his limousine back to the White House from the scene of the shooting at the hotel on Constitution Avenue then sometime later the word came from Lyn nofzinger one of the president's press AIDS who's been in and out of his campaign life to the effect that the president had in fact been shot which came as as shocking news to those who were seeking some relief from the horror of the day by the fact that Mr Reagan at least had been missed so now we know that he has been wounded in the left Thor ax a bullet apparently lodged in his chest we are told by some that surgery is inevitable that he has had a transfusion and that his condition remains nonetheless stable we're also told that he has walked into the hospital and that he himself did not realize that he'd become a victim of the as salent bullets until sometime after it happened we have a late report now to the effect from correspondent Phil Jones the president has undergone some surgery and has at least received one transfusion which of course is probably a normal course of events in in such a case James Brady you Stephanie were on the campaign with them for some time a a rather Stout fellow who seems to be with the president at all times has has tried to dissuade him from answering all of the questions that the Press Corps keeps putting to Mr Reagan Mr Reagan keeps responding and it's it's Mr Brady who's become a familiar figure in trying to move him along so he was close to the president and probably comes as no surprise to the White House News Corp that uh in fact he was in the line of fire Reed uh I might tell you a little bit about James Brady the White House news secretary and as you say I did get to know him quite well on the Reagan campaign he's uh generally a jolly fellow he's 40 years old a latecomer to Mr Reagan's presidential campaign he joined the effort after his first choice former Texas governor John Connelly dropped out of the race Brady is from Centralia Illinois he was a public relations executive in Chicago before he entered politics he worked in the Gerald Ford Administration and as an assistant to the secretaries of Housing and defense during last Fall's campaign Brady was the deputy to the then press secretary Lyn noser noser is now a White House assistant and Brady was brought into the Reagan Camp after the candidate was criticized for making misstatements of fact while on the campaign Trail it was Brady's job to keep Ronald Reagan up to date on all the issues Brady was known on the campaign Trail for his ability to to deflect tough questioning from all of us reporters with his wit read we're told Mr Brady was wheeled into a room in the hospital where they have a so-called cat scanner device it's sort of a super x-ray machine he did not appear to be moving at the time one of the other wounded men is a secret service agent his condition is not known or not listed but another of the Wounded was a Washington District policeman his condition described as critical the president's younger son who's the dancer with the Joffrey B got word of the assassination attempt this afternoon at a hotel in Lincoln Nebraska where the ballet was scheduled to perform this evening he's Ronald Prescott Reagan he's 23 reporters watch the Secret Service agents briefing him it is believ that the younger Reagan will leave Nebraska and head east as soon as as that becomes possible by playing Mrs Reagan is at the hospital as we have repeatedly told you there has been no comment from her no indication of uh of what she is doing the president president as we have said is wounded but was ambulatory according to James Baker who said he walked into the hospital no one at the scene of the crime had any inkling that Mr Reagan had in fact been hit he was rushed suddenly he looked surprised and shocked by the Secret Service into the limousine and It sped away everybody thought he's safe he's going to the White House so little we know when you have an event of that nature taking place you have some of the cracked reporters in all of the world gathered several feet of away and uh trying to find out from an eyewitness what happens is almost impossible until all the facts are sorted out re we have this word in that Senate Republican leader Howard baker has adjourned the Senate which had been considering the Reagan package of tax cuts Senator Edward Kennedy whose two brothers were slain of course in the 1960s the president and the then attorney general declared with our prayers for those who have been wounded I think must go our resolution to rid our society of hatred violence and hatred are alien to everything this uh throughout L off sigar at the hospital uh he will be making statements from there we will have the same information here uh I can only say what we said earlier that the president has a gunshot wound in the uh left side of the chest he's in stable condition uh Jim Brady has been shot it is a head wound we have no information on his condition that's extent I can't say we have gotten confirmed reports so of other network news so of the wires can't you help us with that as soon as we can confirm it we will and I just brother's been called by the White House and has been told that the president is in surgery right now that he's already had blood transfusions is your information going to be that far behind what we're getting from other no lesie we will do our very best to keep it up uh as you know earlier when I was out here our initial reports so was it the the president was not hit uh that's what we run into when we try to give information when we are aren't 100% sure or we don't have from the source we do have somebody there with the president I will be here and I just want to let you know I'll come down every 15 or 20 or 30 minutes just to let you know exactly what we know and we'll also let you know when we don't have any further information in of what you know what you just said now is that the extent of what you know that that's the extent of what I can say at this time surgery and come back or something I I I will no you have any idea did there are reports that it functioned lung uh we can't confirm that yet we've talked to the doctors but you know we we cannot confirm that yet Larry you confirm reports that Jim is in surgery now uh yes what process that the United States government go through with foreign governments when something like this occurs jury there is a notification process and I think the state department has moved on that US military been placed on any higher Readiness not that I'm aware of uh there were some questions about the vice president I understand he was in Texas today he is returning he's expected to arrive at Andrews around 8:00 this evening according to the information I have now uh he has been informed he is in communication can there be a division of labor of any not that I'm aware we just haven't crossed those bridges yet what's the nature of the notification that the state department is making the foreign government uh I'm I'm sure it's a notification to indicate that the um you know that that the president is in stable condition who's running the government right now if the president goes into surgery and goes under anesthesia Vice President Bush become the acting president at that moment or under what circumstances does he I I cannot answer that question which is which is Technical and manag team does that come into effect what is the consideration in in in not keeping us more up to date on the president's condition we know he's in surgery and you don't no one seems to be able to come out and confirm it why the time lag uh LLY I would assure you there's there's no reason except we want to be completely sure of our facts choices are confirming well I'm sorry I I cannot do it from here at this time what can you tell us about the gun in cust absolutely nothing that would have to come the Secret Service or the police will beet the stat of the whether the vice president shouldent pardon who will be determining the stat of the I don't know the I don't know the details on that uh I'll let you know short and we understand now Ken bod whom we were trying to reach before is standing by Ken let's hold Ken let's hold Ken bod off for a while Al ha the Secretary of State Alexander hag is speaking right now Washington we have in the situation room all of the officials of the cabinet who should be here and ready at this time we have uh informed our friends abroad of the situation the president's condition as we know it stable now undergoing surgery and there are absolutely no alert measures that are necessary at this time or contemplated uh now if you have some questions I'd be happy to take management that could be effect when crisis management is in effect what are the extent of the president's injury decision constitutionally gentlemen you have the president the vice president and the Secretary of State in that order and should the president decide he wants to transfer the helm to the vice president he he will do so what as of now I am in control here in the White House pending Return of the vice president and in close touch with him if something came up I would check with him of course what are the extent of the president's injury well as best we know uh he's had one round under his body in the left side uh into the left lung and there is a surgery underway to remov the round now when the president entered surgery he was conscious all his signs were stable and uh the Situation's very clear no I did not nor was it necessary I was in close touch with both uh Mr me and Mr Baker throughout and have been from the early moments H when did you arrive at the White House very few moments after the incident very few moments after the incident do you know what the condition Mr BR we understand that uh uh I just saw on television what you saw and it sounds serious the I don't anticipate any reaction I think you've gotten all that you need for the moment and thank you you remain in charge here until the vice president we'll stay right where we are until the situation clarifies when does the vice president expect this when does the vice president expect this here okay later this afternoon he'll be here shortly Secretary of State Alexander ha speaking at the uh at the State Department crisis management he says is already underway the president was alive and stable uh he did undergo surgery and uh we are awaiting the arrival of Secretary of vice president forch who is in Fort Worth Texas and is on his way back four people wounded that we know of so far the president who was wounded in the chest uh his press secretary James Brady gly was hit in the head and according to secretary ha uh isn't it sounds serious two other people who were wounded were a secret service agent and a member of the District of Columbia Police Department this is NBC news we have an identification on that uh secret service agent the one it was wounded Allen Timothy J McCarthy and he the uh we have no condition report on him the district police officer Washington police officer who is also wounded is reportedly in critical condition at the Washington Hospital Center Vice President Bush as you say is on his way back from fortt Worth Texas the president is in charge of the government we understand that is the word from alh and White House AIDS however one of those questions did make a succinct point that if the president is put uh under uh anesthesia during that surgery then the powers of the United States would automatically devolve on the second in command who in this case is Vice President George Bush and Bush is in command of Crisis management and so he will be coordin ating the various organs of government to deal with this situation all of this happened 2 hours ago a little less than 2 hours ago and it happened very suddenly as you might expect such things to take place an attempted assassination apparently a single gunman a suspect already taken into custody John W Hanley of Evergreen Colorado who apparently has no prior record in that Community four people wounded the president of the United States uh his press secretary Jim Brady a member of the Secret Service and a member of the District of Columbia Police dep apartment all four of those wounded apparently by a single gunman uh who just appeared and started shooting and uh there were a total of six shots fired four of them found their mark an eyewitnessed to that shooting a television cameraman who was standing nearby filming Reagan as he uh came out of the Washington Hilton where he had just delivered a speech said quote that the gunman just opened up and started firing these cameraman says the man just opened up and continued squeezing the trigger he didn't say anything at all while he was shooting struck the four people the cameraman uh conjectured that this man had penetrated the Press Corp and and indeed uh although this may be a question for a later time there is some question about how a man with a revolver with great Secret Service protection got within 10 ft or so of President Reagan the president did not apparently know that he was struck at first although somebody said he winced he was pushed into the car by the Secret Service AIDS and then his political Aid Lyn Niger who gave the world the first confirmation that the president had been wounded said that when he arrived George Washington Hospital the president walked into the hospital under his own power was chatting with his AIDS uh asked if it is a serious wound Niger said anytime you are struck in the chest it is a serious wound there was some question initially about whether they would operate to take the bullet out now we understand they have made that decision the president is in surgery and we do not know how serious it is but before the president was said to be conscious and in stable condition the president is 70 years old but he is in excellent physical condition and the mere fact that he was able to walk into George Washington University Hospital AR as well for his ability to St to withstand the kind of surgery that is necessary to remove a bullet which entered his left side apparently the most seriously wounded is uh either the policeman or Mr Brady who was seen lying face down on the pavement uh the blood coming from a uh a wound in the temple and as as Secretary of State Alexander heg said a few minutes ago in live appearance that you heard it seemed to be serious and his reference there was to Mr Brady SEC secretary hay said that crisis management is underway Vice President Bush who is head of the crisis management team is on his way back to Washington from an appearance in Fort Worth Texas all the other members of the cabinet too we should mention that of of defense and Treasury and interior and the rest of the cabinet members are assembling at George Washington University Hospital and is as is Nancy Reagan she was there early on with the president at his side while he was still conscious before surgery you have something late out only the two of the president's three children who live in California were described as being in shock and that's certainly understandable over the shooting of their father in Washington they are Moren Reagan who is uh out in California and Michael Reagan who works for the Southern Pacific Title Company in Santa Ana California uh Nancy Reagan is with her husband at George Washington University Hospital in Washington again we have no information on the result of the surgery that was underway just a short time ago we damaged to the track of the bullet and the removal of the excision of the bullet itself of course may take an undetermined amount of time Mr Reagan's 70 years of age but as we have said before and has been said and commented upon previously he keeps himself in good condition takes good care of himself and is an athletic and active president at the age of 70 the scene itself uh was confused by the rain by the fact that nobody knew what was going on at first several bullets were fired as Mr Reagan left a hotel where he had given a speech it was known that three people immediately had been felled one of whom was his press secretary James Brady who was wounded in the head we believe and his condition is thought to be very serious two others who were wounded were a treasury secret service agent and a district of U Columbia policeman whose condition is described as critical it was thought that the president in fact it was said by the White House that the president had been missed and was not hit or hurt and this was information that the news media went with for the better part of 1 hour when suddenly it was discovered he was not at the White House where it was thought his limousine had returned him but in fact had been taken to the hospital too wounded with a bullet lodged in the chest reaction has come as we've noted from London we had a report from Anthony brutton on the reaction and the statement by Margaret ther the British prime minister our correspondent Walter kronite happens to be in Moscow at the moment and Walter perhaps we can get to what Moscow thinks of the the felling of its main Western adversary well Reed it's uh midnight here uh just about now in fact it's 25 minutes after midnight uh when the news came first rattling over the teleprinters of the American News service wires uh here at the CBS Bureau that is all we're going to hear here from Walder kronite in Moscow for the moment as you could probably hear the connection has been lost we don't know how or where but uh if we can get to Mr kronite back we'll do so summing up a man has been arrested he's identified as a 22-year-old from Evergreen Colorado whose name is listed as John W hinley he's a sandy-haired blonde young man 22 years of age who the Secret Service alleges was wielding a 38 caliber pistol from which he fired from four to six shots four of them took effect three of them knocked down James Brady the presidential press secretary a District of Columbia policeman and a secret service agent who lay on the sidewalk the fourth bullet unknown perhaps even to the president himself had lodged in Ronald Reagan's left chest he was rushed on into his limousine into the protection of the device which was just there at the curb from which he was taken immediately to the hospital which is several blocks from the scene of the hotel where he had given a speech this afternoon he undergone surgery for removal of the bullet and repair of the track damage that it made we are informed reliably that um as is probably customary in the case he was given a transfusion he was described as conscious when he entered the hospital he was described also as having walked in ambulatory under his own power and now of course is under anesthesia and his wife Nancy Reagan has been in the hospital now the better part of a couple of hours she having rushed over from the White House she didn't go down to the hotel with him where he made the address that is the situation as best we know it concern was voiced for the condition of James Brady from the outset he's 40 he was felled obviously by a a bullet in the head and he was in a scanning device a cat scanner one of those modern technological Miracles that hospitals well equipped ones have he did not appear to be moving as people saw him wheeled into that scanning device to find out the exact condition of the head wound and where the bullet May lie Mr Reagan uh has been under surgery we would gather now for some time that's an open-ended situation probably you don't know what you find until you get in and the 38 caliber bullet is said to be somewhere in the thoracic area it struck nothing critical but it did apparently Nick the left lung and may well have collapsed that which is again not an unusual occurrence George Bush the vice president was in Texas he was making a series of speeches he was informed he is now on Route board an Air Force plane to Andrews Air Force Base where he'll take up station near or in the White House the cabinet members and other people who make decisions as to how to in the inter egum carry on the business of government has gathered Secretary of State ha takes a more commanding position in the absence of George Bush it next would fall to him should the president be declared or declare himself to be incapacitated Mr Reagan as we say is in the hospital now George Washington University Hospital several blocks from the White House his wife is with him he is undergone surgery or still perhaps may be undergoing it there's a recovery room process of course after this which takes some considerable amount of time we've received no late bulletins no keeping up with it from the hospital at self the White House staff has had a difficult time it was the author of the first information which was so heartening that Mr rean had been missed and wasn't hit or hurt and they went with that for some time he walked in he's in stable condition and we don't know what's going to happen next what happened next was as one might guess was surgery to remove the bullet and repair the damage the progress of that the prognosis of this entire afternoon of surprise and horror isn't known because perhaps no one yet knows it at least nobody has said man's in custody his background we don't know except that he is from Colorado town of Evergreen Colorado and his name is said be Hinkley he's young 22 sandy-haired man of nondescript or at least unknown background