Death of Reagan’s press secretary investigated as homicide

James Brady, the former White House press secretary, died this week at the age of 73, but police are treating it as a homicide after due to the injuries he received in 1981 in an assassination attempt on then US President Ronald Reagan.

The attack left Mr Brady paralysed due to brain damage, but in the years following he became a leading gun control crusader.

The attempted assassination was carried out by John Hinckley Jr who has been confined to a psychiatric hospital after being found not guilty due to insanity.

Police said an autopsy was conducted on Mr Brady, “and revealed the cause of death to be a gunshot wound and consequences thereof, and the manner of death was ruled a homicide”.

Mr Hinckley Jr opened fire on the president’s entourage outside the Washington Hilton Hotel on 30 March 1981, hitting four people, including Mr Brady, Reagan a secret service agent and a police officer.

Mr Brady suffered brain damage, partial paralysis, short-term memory impairment and slurred speech.

After the incident Mr Brady campaigned for new laws to require background checks for handgun sales, leading to the “Brady Bill” that was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1993.