Failed Ronald Reagan Assassin John Hinckley Jr. Slams 'Lax' Security at Washington Hilton After WHCD Shooting: 'Bad Things Keep Happening'

The man who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan decades ago criticized security measures at the Washington Hilton hotel after the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting.

John Hinckley Jr., said the hotel — where he coincidentally tried to take out the former president in 1981 — should stop holding events "because bad things keep happening" and "it's just not a secure place to hold big events."

Speaking to an outlet following the WHCD shooting on Saturday, April 25, Hinckley, 70, explained how he was able to "sneak into a crowd of reporters waiting outside the hotel for Reagan to exit after delivering a speech."

Describing the security as "lax," Hinckley told TMZ that Secret Service agents "never checked whether he was a reporter during their sweeps."

The would-be assassin also admitted it was "spooky" to discover Saturday night's shooting "took place at the same hotel as mine did."

As OK! previously reported, Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and other top officials were quickly evacuated from the ballroom after shots were fired in the nearby lobby during the prestigious event.

It was soon revealed the suspected gunman, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, sent his family an alleged manifesto shortly before the incident in which he shared his plan to target the president and members of his administration.

Fortunately, no one was injured — but some are slamming the less-than-tight security at the high-profile dinner.

In a lengthy X post on Sunday, April 26, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin wrote: "I flashed my ticket and was waved through in one second. My name was not checked against any list, I showed no ID, I was not patted down and did not go through a metal detector."

"I probably could have shown a ticket from a prior year or a fake one as they barely looked at it," Melugin continued. "From that point, I walked into the hotel with no further security check, and I walked down to the Fox pre-party where there were multiple ballrooms that were absolutely PACKED with attendees. Still did not go through any security at that point."

The correspondent went on to say, "Only once it was time to get into the main ballroom for the dinner did we pass through magnetometers, empty our pockets, and get a pat down. And even that checkpoint was just outside of the dinner room."

Allen, a California teacher, was officially charged with trying to assassinate Trump in court on Monday, April 27. His preliminary hearing is set for May 11.