Washington, Shawwal 13, 1435, Aug 9, 2014, SPA -- A medical examiner ruled Friday that the death of a former White House press secretary wounded in an assassination attempt on president Ronald Reagan in 1981 was a homicide, according to dpa. James Brady died Monday at age 73. An autopsy conducted by the Virginia medical examiner attributed his death to the gunshot wound he sustained to his head life 33 years ago, reports said. The would-be assassin, John Hinckley Jr, pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and has been confined to a mental hospital since 1982. Police in Washington will now investigate Brady's death, USA Today reported. The bullet that struck Brady in the head caused traumatic brain injury that left him partially paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. After the shooting he founded the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, an organization dedicated to changing US gun control laws. Hinckley, 59, has been allowed for many years to leave the hospital for short unsupervised visits to his mother's home in Virginia. --SPA 13:23 LOCAL TIME 10:23 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w