The death this week of an aide to President Ronald Reagan who survived a gunshot wound to the head in 1981 has been ruled a homicide. The Associated Press reports that the death of James Brady, who died Monday at 73 after a series of health problems, was attributed to homicide by the medical examiner.

Full results of the autopsy were not available Friday evening, and it was not immediately clear whether the findings were connected to the 1981 shooting. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Washington told the AP that his office "is reviewing the ruling on the death of Mr. Brady and has no further comment at this time."

Brady was shot by John Hinckley Jr. as part of a failed assassination attempt against Reagan. While he survived his initial wounds, he never regained the full use of his limbs and often used a wheelchair. Brady went on to champion gun control; the Brady law, signed in 1993, required a five-day wait and background check before a handgun is sold.