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John Hinckley ‘Happy as a Clam’ 38 Years After Shooting Reagan

New details released on how the would-be assassin is settling back into normal life.

John Hinckley says he's “happy as a clam” two years after he was discharged from a mental hospital and nearly 38 years since he tried to assassinate President Reagan. Psychological reports recently released by the federal judge who is overseeing Hinckley's case give new insights on how the would-be assassin is settling back into normal life. He shot and nearly killed Reagan outside a Washington hotel on March 30, 1981. The president’s press secretary, Jim Brady, was also wounded and his death nearly three decades later was ruled a homicide because the shooting left him partially paralyzed. Hinckley recently told a psychologist: “This is the best I’ve ever felt in my life ... I’m happy as a clam, to be honest.” He reportedly runs a small antiques business and has adopted a cat named Theo. However, the report says he's struggling to maintain relationships and one potential romantic interest last year was so afraid of him that she called the police. After years of gradually expanding Hinckley’s freedom, he was ordered released in July 2016 to go live with his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia. A judge ruled last November that he could can move out of his mother's house and live independently or with roommates.