US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night after a shooting was reported at the venue.
The gunman fired at a Secret Service agent, an FBI official told Reuters. About two hours after the incident, Trump told reporters at the White House that the officer was saved by his bulletproof vest and was in “good condition.”
The suspect, who Trump described as a “sick person,” was arrested. All federal officials at the dinner, including Trump, were safe.
Trump: The shooter looked pretty mean
“A man attacked a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons and was taken down by some very brave members of the Secret Service,” Trump said at a White House news conference after the incident.
A video posted by Trump on Truth Social shows someone running quickly through a security checkpoint, momentarily catching security personnel by surprise before they quickly draw their weapons.
“You know, he was charging from 50 yards away, so he was very far from the room. He was moving. He was really moving,” Trump said after the gala dinner was canceled.
Officials believe he was a “lone wolf” who acted alone, Trump said, adding, “He was a guy who looked pretty mean when he was on the floor.”
Trump said federal agents searched the suspected shooter’s California home. Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service, said the agency was investigating the shooting near the main screening area at the entrance to the event.
After the sound of gunshots, the diners immediately stopped talking and people started shouting “Down, down!” Many of the 2,600 attendees ducked as waiters fled to the front of the dining room.
Security agents shoved Cabinet officials to the ground, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Interior Minister Doug Burgum.
Other security personnel in combat uniforms stormed the stage and evacuated Trump and his wife. Some of the security personnel took up positions on the stage, pointing their guns at the ballroom. Cabinet members were evacuated from the venue one by one.
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, an important event in Washington’s social calendar each year, was also attended by many members of Trump’s cabinet and other senior administration officials. The event takes place in the basement ballroom of the Hilton Hotel.
Trump’s announcement not the networks
Just before addressing the media, Trump shared pictures and video of the alleged shooting suspect.
The close-up photo shows a shirtless man on the floor with his hands handcuffed behind his back, surrounded by members of the Secret Service.
The grainy video shows a person running past the security guards, who then turn and chase after her.
In his address to the media on Saturday night, the president confirmed that he had given instructions for the distribution of both the images and the video.
Who is the attacker?
According to a report by the BBC’s North American news partner, CBS, the suspect in the shooting is 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen of Torrance, California. He worked as a teacher and video game developer in Southern California.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 and a master’s degree in computer science from California State University Dominguez Hills last year.
Trump said the FBI and Secret Service were executing search warrants at an address in California.
Interim Washington Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said he was a guest at the hotel where the event was being held. He added that there is no reason to believe that anyone else is in danger.
Although law enforcement has confirmed that there was a shooting, it is not clear how many shots were fired. Police said members of the security forces and the man exchanged fire.
Carroll said the suspect was “armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.”
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for Washington, said the suspect faces two counts of using a firearm during a violent crime and assaulting federal officers with a dangerous weapon.
He will be formally charged on Monday, she said.
A motive for the shooting remains unclear, but Trump said he hoped to provide an update on Sunday.
The shooting followed an assassination attempt in 2024.
Trump and the first lady ducked backstage before being escorted out by Secret Service officers. Trump stayed backstage for about an hour, a source told Reuters. “We are staying,” he was heard saying, the source said.
Trump took to social media to say he hoped the dinner, the first he attended as president, could be rescheduled in 30 days.
He was the target of two assassination attempts in 2024 while campaigning for re-election after leaving the White House in 2021.
The most serious attempt occurred while Trump was campaigning at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. Trump was shot in the upper ear by a 20-year-old gunman. The armed assailant was killed by security personnel.
Just over two months after the Butler shooting, Secret Service agents spotted a man with a gun hiding in bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while Trump was on the course. It was considered an assassination attempt, and the suspect was sentenced to life in prison in February.
The place of Saturday’s dinner, the Washington Hilton, was the scene of an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded by a would-be assassin in front of the hotel in 1981.
(TYPE/source: N1/Photo: CNN)
