The man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 spoke out in a CNN interview about the assassination attempt against Donald Trump to warn that "this country is in a really bad place right now."
There's "just so much violence, so many guns, and it's really a fraught time now," said John Hinckley Jr., who spent 35 years in a psychiatric facillity after shooting Reagan as the president was leaving a hotel in Washington, D.C.
"I wanted to speak out as someone who knows a little bit about what happed because of what happened with me," he told Erin Burnett in the interview Saturday.
"I wanted to speak to the American public and tell people to please try to reject violence and bring peace and love into their lives," he added.
One of Hinckley's bullets punctured Reagan's lung, lodging just an inch from his heart.
Hinkley also seriously wounded Reagan's press secretatry, James Brady, who was partially paralyzed in the attack and eventually killed decades later by the impact of his injuries. A police officer and secret service agent were also wounded.
Hinckley, who was released n 2016, told Burnett that he was particularly reaching out to troubled people "going through hard times," as he was before he fired on Reagan.
"I always think it could have turned out differently," he said.
"Just try to love your neighbor and youself," Hinckley added.
Hinckley said the attack on Trump "made me really sad."
