WASHINGTON: The Secret Service agent who helped save US president Ronald Reagan during a 1981 assassination attempt has died aged 85, US media said Saturday.
Jerry Parr sprang into action to shove the president into a waiting limousine in the frantic moments after gunshots were fired outside the Washington Hilton Hotel on March 30, 1981.
As they sped away, Parr discovered Reagan had been injured and redirected the bullet-proof car to a nearby hospital.
Recounting the incident later, Parr said he had thought he had injured one of Reagan’s ribs when he fell on top of the president in the race to get him into the limousine, only learning at the hospital that the president had been shot.
First lady Nancy Reagan credited those quick decisions with saving the president’s life.
Reacting to Parr’s death, Nancy Reagan said he was “one of my true heroes.”
“Without Jerry looking out for Ronnie on March 30, 1981, I would have certainly lost my best friend and roommate to an assassin’s bullet,” she said in a statement widely cited in US media.
“Jerry was not only one of the finest Secret Service agents to ever serve this country, but one of the most decent human beings I’ve ever known.
“He was humble but strong, reserved but confident, and blessed with a great sense of humor. It is no wonder that he and my husband got along so well.”
Parr died Friday of congestive heart failure at a hospice near Washington where he lived, according to The Washington Post.
Parr became a minister after he retired from the Secret Service in 1985, the newspaper said.
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Secret Service agent who saved Reagan dies
Secret Service agent who saved Reagan dies
Zelensky warns of new Russian strikes ahead of Geneva peace talks
KYIV: President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukrainian intelligence showed more Russian attacks on energy targets lay ahead and that such strikes made it more difficult to reach an agreement on ending the nearly four-year war.
“Intelligence reports show that Russia is preparing further massive strikes against energy infrastructure so it is necessary to ensure that all air defense systems are properly configured,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
Ukrainian, Russian and American delegations are gathering in the Swiss city of Geneva for a third round of US-brokered talks on Tuesday focused for the first time on the thorniest question of the war — the fate of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia.
Zelensky said Russian attacks were “constantly evolving” and resorting to a combination of weapons, including drones and missiles, requiring “special defense and support from our partners.”
“Russia cannot resist the temptation of the final days of winter cold and wants to strike Ukrainians painfully,” he said. “Partners must understand this. First and foremost, this concerns the United States.”
Reuters was not able to immediately reach Russian officials for comment.
The head of Ukraine’s delegation, Rustem Umerov, said on Telegram that his team was already in Geneva looking forward “to constructive work and substantive meetings on security and humanitarian issues.”
Moscow wants Ukraine to cede the entirety of the Donbas area. The Kremlin confirmed that Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, would lead the Russian delegation.
“This time, the idea is to discuss a broader range of issues, including, in fact, the main ones. The main issues concern both the territories and everything else related to the demands we have put forward,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Two earlier rounds of US-backed talks in the United Arab Emirates led to a prisoner swap but no breakthrough toward a settlement.
“Intelligence reports show that Russia is preparing further massive strikes against energy infrastructure so it is necessary to ensure that all air defense systems are properly configured,” Zelensky said in his nightly video address.
Ukrainian, Russian and American delegations are gathering in the Swiss city of Geneva for a third round of US-brokered talks on Tuesday focused for the first time on the thorniest question of the war — the fate of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia.
Zelensky said Russian attacks were “constantly evolving” and resorting to a combination of weapons, including drones and missiles, requiring “special defense and support from our partners.”
“Russia cannot resist the temptation of the final days of winter cold and wants to strike Ukrainians painfully,” he said. “Partners must understand this. First and foremost, this concerns the United States.”
Reuters was not able to immediately reach Russian officials for comment.
The head of Ukraine’s delegation, Rustem Umerov, said on Telegram that his team was already in Geneva looking forward “to constructive work and substantive meetings on security and humanitarian issues.”
Moscow wants Ukraine to cede the entirety of the Donbas area. The Kremlin confirmed that Vladimir Medinsky, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, would lead the Russian delegation.
“This time, the idea is to discuss a broader range of issues, including, in fact, the main ones. The main issues concern both the territories and everything else related to the demands we have put forward,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Two earlier rounds of US-backed talks in the United Arab Emirates led to a prisoner swap but no breakthrough toward a settlement.
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