10 Assassination Attempts That Were Shown On Television

10. Ronald Reagan

Bizarrely, the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan in 1981 began with one man's obsession with actress Jodie Foster. John Hinckley, Jr. was obsessed with Foster due to erotomania, trailing her across the country for years and writing her many letters.

After being rejected on multiple occasions, Hinckley decided to emulate his hero Travis Bickle from the film Taxi Driver, and attempt a political assassination. President Ronald Reagan and three others were shot by Hinckley after leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Incredibly, all four initially survived the attempt. Press Secretary James Brady received the most severe wound, and was paralysed after receiving a gunshot wound in the head.

Brady died 33 years later, of injuries that were deemed directly related to the shooting. The incident was captured by several news cameras in the area, and the footage was famously broadcast around the world.