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The following is from a Time magazine article May 24, 1982: "The elder Hinckley described an agonizing meeting with his "wiped out" prodigal son at the Denver airport just three weeks before the shooting. John Sr. said that on advice from the family psychiatrist he refused to let his son come home and suggested he stay at the Y.M.C.A. When John said he did not want to do that, his father told him, "O.K., you're on your own. Do whatever you want to do." Said the elder Hinckley: "In looking back on that, I'm sure that was the greatest mistake of my life. I am the cause of John's tragedy. We forced him out at a time when he just couldn't cope. I wish to God that I could trade places with him right now." Then he buried his eyes in a handkerchief and sobbed." [1]

I think calling Hinckley an "American singer-songwriter" in the lead sentence should be avoided, in favor of simply calling him an "American man". Two reasons: (1) it is anachronistic to the assassination, and can be interpreted to mean he was a musician at the time (he wasn't, let alone a famous one), and (2) it is undue weight (comparable to listing "artist" in the first sentence of George W. Bush's article alongside politician and businessman; it is true [see George W. Bush#Art], but not an aspect important enough to include in the lead sentence). — Goszei (talk) 02:23, 31 October 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Isn't Hinckley Jr.'s main occupation "singer-songwriter" now? Keeping the lead as it is implies that he never changed his occupation. Perhaps it might be better to write:

- John Warnock Hinckley Jr. (born May 29, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and former convict who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan...

In this way, we note that he has committed the act but also served his time and also has a new career. ―Howard • 🌽³³ 08:57, 19 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello all,

There is no source cited at the end of paragraph 1 under the Treatment heading. The paragraph makes some very serious allegations that should not be published without credible sourcing. I have added a request for a reference at the end of the paragraph, however a review by a more experienced Wikipedia editor would be greatly appreciated. Dinopt (talk) 20:41, 25 July 2022 (UTC)[reply]

In Ted Kennedy A Life (2022), the author John A. Farrell writes: "In time, Kennedy would learn that the gunman, John Hinkley Jr., had visited the senator's office, stalked him on the Capitol grounds, and prowled the corridors of the Senate Office Building before, impatiently, deciding to shoot Reagan instead." (p. 404)

I submit this info to the WP community to debate and decide if it should be included in this article.

MiztuhX (talk) 02:04, 29 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

After doing a quick internet search, I found another source that adds more color to the assertion that Hinkley stalked Ted Kennedy. In Good Ted, Bad Ted: The Two Faces of Edward T. Kennedy (1993), Lester David states: "John Hinckley, the man who shot President Reagan, initially chose Senator Kennedy as his target. He waited in Kennedy's office reception room for three hours with a loaded .22 caliber Saturday Night Special in his pocket. Had the Senator not been late, he would surely have been the third Kennedy to be assassinated."

MiztuhX (talk) 02:11, 29 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Mel Ayton's Hunting the President (2014) also mentions this: "In February 1980, John Hinckley Jr. changed his target once more, but only momentarily. He decided he wanted to be the third Kennedy assassin and kill Senator Edward M. Kennedy, the last of the Kennedy brothers. He arrived in Washington, D.C., and visited Kennedy’s Senate office. He waited in the corridor for the senator to appear. Frustrated when Kennedy didn’t walk by, Hinckley made his way to the Capitol, thinking he could attack the senator there. But he backed off when he saw the metal detector at the entrance to the building. Instead, he headed for the White House and joined a tour of the executive mansion."

https://www.historyonthenet.com/john-hinckley-jr

MiztuhX (talk) 02:32, 29 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I am strongly opposed to the use of a photo of Jody Foster in this article. She is a living person whose name has been abused extremely severely by this man who never met her. It's obvious to me that her face does not belong here. I will remove the image again, unless someone can come up with a good reason to offend Foster with her photo in this article. --SergeWoodzing (talk) 11:49, 15 April 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Agreed. It is very messed up that that picture is on this article. I tried removing it also, and user FMSky keeps putting it back. Shevvvv (talk) 04:00, 12 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

?? what exactly is even the problem? why is it inappropriate to have this photo here? --FMSky (talk) 04:09, 12 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

It is that it is distasteful and somewhat creepy to include a picture of the person a stalker is obsessed with on their article. Especially a "cute" photo like that one. It is as if the article is attempting to justify why the stalker might have stalked them. Shevvvv (talk) 21:02, 6 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I don't know much about dispute resolution on Wikipedia but I thought I would try it out since we keep disagreeing, so I posted it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Dispute_resolution_noticeboard#John_Hinckley%20Jr Shevvvv (talk) 21:11, 6 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

John Hinckley graduated from Highland Park High School in Dallas in 1973, not 1974. I corrected it. His high school activities included Spanish Club (2), Students in Gov. (3), and Rodeo Club (4). Source is from his senior yearbook, Highlander, and reproduced on the Classmates.com website.--SN 29 July 2023 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.13.145.108 (talk) 04:03, 30 July 2023 (UTC)[reply]