Editing Tim McCarthy (section)

== Reagan assassination attempt ==
{{Main article|Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan}}
[[Image:President Ronald Reagan moments before he was shot in an assassination attempt 1981.jpg|thumb|250px|McCarthy (far right) moments before the attempted assassination of Reagan (waving). Left, in white trenchcoat, [[Jerry Parr]], who pushed the President, body-sheltered by McCarthy, into the car.]]

On March 30, 1981, [[John Hinckley Jr.]] opened fire on President [[Ronald Reagan]] as he exited the Washington Hilton Hotel after giving a speech, firing six bullets in 1.7 seconds.<ref name="wilber2011">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PdCLMpSY5qkC&pg=PP1|title=Rawhide Down: The Near Assassination of Ronald Reagan|author=Wilber, Del Quentin|publisher=Macmillan|year=2011|isbn=978-0-8050-9346-9}}</ref> As [[Special Agent In Charge]] [[Jerry Parr]] quickly pushed Reagan into the limousine, McCarthy put himself in the line of fire and spread his body in front of Reagan to make himself a target.<ref name="dis20101213">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1Jid5uRFo4  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/N1Jid5uRFo4 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Reagan Assassination Attempt |date=2010-12-13 |type=YouTube |publisher=Discovery UK}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="cbs04">{{cite web|last=Crean|first=Ellen|date=June 11, 2004|publisher=CBS|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/he-took-a-bullet-for-reagan/|title=He Took a Bullet for Reagan|quote='In the Secret Service,' [McCarthy] continued, 'we're trained to cover and evacuate the president. And to cover the president, you have to get as large as you can, rather than hitting the deck.'}}</ref>{{r|wilber2011}}{{r|reagan.com}} He was struck in the chest by the fourth bullet, the bullet traversing McCarthy's right lung, [[Thoracic diaphragm|diaphragm]], and right lobe of the [[liver]].<ref name=reagan.com>[http://www.ronaldreagan.com/march30.html "March 30, 1981"] Reagan's reflections on the assassination attempt, Ronaldreagan.com. Retrieved March 5, 2007. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227230834/http://www.ronaldreagan.com/march30.html|date=December 27, 2010}}</ref><ref name=three>Feaver, Douglas. "Three men shot at the side of their President", ''The Washington Post'', March 31, 1981.</ref><ref name=two>Hunter, Marjorie. "2 in Reagan security detail are wounded outside hotel", ''[[The New York Times]]'', March 31, 1981.</ref> McCarthy was not wearing a [[bulletproof]] vest.{{fact|date=July 2024}}

McCarthy was not supposed to be on duty that day. At the last minute, the Secret Service received a request for an officer to provide protection to Reagan for an AFL-CIO luncheon on March 31. McCarthy and a colleague flipped a coin to see who would have to fill in on their day off; McCarthy lost.<ref name="wilber2011" />

McCarthy was taken to [[George Washington University Hospital]], and was operated on near the president.<ref name="ssreport19810504">{{Cite web |url=http://www.secretservice.gov/Reagan%20Assassination%20Attempt%20Interview%20Reports.pdf |title=Reagan Assassination Attempt Interview Reports |last=Office of Inspection |publisher=United States Secret Service |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721062148/https://www.secretservice.gov/Reagan%20Assassination%20Attempt%20Interview%20Reports.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-21 |access-date=March 11, 2011}}</ref> He was later released after a 2-hour surgery.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reagan Wounded In Chest By Gunman; Outlook 'Good' After 2-Hour Surgery; Aide And 2 Guards Shot; Suspect Held |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0330.html |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=archive.nytimes.com}}</ref>