James Brady, former White House press secretary, died Monday from wounds inflicted during an assassination attempt on the president in 1981. The medical examiner in Northern Virginia ruled Friday that Brady's death was a homicide.

Brady served under the Reagan administration during John Hinckley Jr.'s attempt to shoot the president with a six-shot .22-caliber revolver on March 30, 1981. The press secretary was hit by a bullet in the right side of his head and was left partially paralyzed from the attack. He died 33 years later at the age of 73.

The medical examiner concluded that it was this bullet was the cause of Brady's death.

While Brady was the most severely injured, Reagan, a D.C. police officer and secret service agent were all wounded during the shooting.

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity for his crimes in 1982. Since his acquittal, he has been receiving psychiatric treatment in St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington. Beginning in 1999, Hinckley, now 59, has been allowed to temporarily leave the treatment facility for visits such as seeing his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia.

D.C. Metropolitan Police are now investigating the death of the former press secretary and gun control advocate.

While murder charges have no statute of limitations, a retrial of Hinckley would be very difficult, according to Hugh Keefe, a former law professor at Yale University.

"They're dead in the water," Keefe said. "That's the end of that case, because we have double jeopardy. He was tried; he was found not guilty based on insanity."

Both Brady's wife, Sarah, and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence declined to comment.

However, Gail Hoffman, a spokeswoman for the Brady family, said the medical examiner's decision should "be no surprise to anybody."

"Jim had been long suffering severe health consequences since the shooting," Hoffman said.