Crimes of the Century Season 1 Episode 4 The Shooting of Ronald Reagan ( Air Date 2013-07-14 ) Genre Documentary, Crime category. Overview "Crimes of the Century looks at the 1981 attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley. Hinckley shot the president because he thought that a high profile assassination would impress actress Jodi Foster. At his trial, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity.".