United States President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner by Secret Service agents on Saturday night after a man opened fire on security personnel, officials said.
A man armed with a shotgun fired at a Secret Service agent, an FBI official told Reuters. The agent was hit in an area covered by protective gear and not harmed, the official said.
All federal officials, including Trump, were safe. About an hour after Trump was rushed from the event, he posted on Truth Social that a “shooter had been apprehended”.
“Quite an evening in DC, Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job,” Trump added.
Shortly afterwards, he posted, “The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition”.
Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesman, said the service was investigating a shooting near the main screening area at the entrance to the event.
Multiple US news outlets identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, in the southwest of Los Angeles County.
Asked about Allen late on Saturday, the FBI did not confirm his identity and told AFP it had nothing to add beyond what was disclosed in news conferences.
A LinkedIn profile with the name “Cole Allen” showed a picture of a man which appeared to match a photo of the suspect shared by Trump. The social media profile said Allen was a mechanical engineer, computer scientist, game developer and teacher.
The federal prosecutor said the shooting suspect will be arraigned in the US capital on Monday and appear before a US district judge.
According to US Attorney Jeanine Piro, the suspect will be charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
The incident occurred at the Washington Hilton — the same hotel where Ronald Reagan was shot and wounded in a 1981 assassination attempt — adding to the gravity of the situation at a venue long associated with high-level political gatherings.
Over the years, the hotel has also hosted international leaders, including Pervez Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto, and Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
After the sound of shots, dinner attendees immediately stopped talking, and people started screaming, “Get down, get down!”
Hundreds of guests dove under the tables as Secret Service officers in combat gear ran into the dining room. Trump and the first lady had bent down behind the dais before being hustled out by Secret Service officers.
Many of the 2,600 attendees took cover while waiters fled to the front of the dining hall.
Security agents pushed cabinet officials to the ground, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Other security personnel in combat fatigues stormed the stage and evacuated Trump and his wife. Some security personnel took up positions on the stage, pointing their rifles into the ballroom. Cabinet members were then evacuated from the venue one by one.
Trump and the first lady bent down behind the dais before being hustled out by Secret Service officers. Trump stayed backstage for about one hour, a source told Reuters. “We are staying,” he was overheard saying, the source said.
CNN, interrupting a live interview from the event, reported that the president was safe. Sam Nunberg, an early Trump campaign aide, said he saw individuals rushing towards exits as the commotion began. Both he and CNN’s Wolf Blitzer later described taking shelter in a restroom during the incident.
The event was eventually cancelled for the evening. Trump posted on social media that he hoped it could be rescheduled in 30 days.
‘Lone wolf’
Speaking at a press conference at the White House after the incident, the US president said the suspect was a “would-be assassin”, adding that the man was “armed with multiple weapons”.
The man charged past a security checkpoint, Trump told the press briefing, adding: “One officer was shot but saved by the fact that he was wearing a, obviously, a very good bulletproof vest.”
“We looked at all of the conditions that took place tonight, and I will say, you know, it’s not a particularly secure building,” the US leader added.
He said that he believed the suspected shooter was a “lone wolf”.
“In my opinion, he was a lone wolf,” Trump said, describing the man as a “whack job” and saying he felt there was no reason to believe the attack was connected to the war in Iran.
He added that the Washington hotel hosting Saturday’s White House correspondents’ dinner was “not a particularly secure” facility.
“We looked at all of the conditions that took place tonight, and I will say, you know, it’s not a particularly secure building,” Trump said of the Washington Hilton hotel that has hosted major political events since it opened in 1965.
Trump said “I guess” when asked whether he was the intended target of the attack. “He was a guy who looked pretty evil when he was down.”
Trump further said federal agents were raiding the California home of the suspected shooter.
‘Heinous act of terrorism’
President Asif Ali Zardari, in a statement issued by the Presidency, condemned the shooting.
He “expressed relief that President Trump & the First Lady are safe, and termed the incident a heinous act of terrorism”.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a post on X, condemned the incident, stating that he was “deeply shocked” by it.
“Deeply shocked by the disturbing shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, DC, a short while ago,” the premier said.
He expressed relief that the US president, the first lady and other attendees were safe.
“My thoughts and prayers are with him, and I wish him continued safety and well-being,” he added.
Deputy PM Ishaq Dar also said he was “deeply shocked by the cowardly shooting incident”.
“We are relieved that President Trump, Vice President Vance and First Lady are safe. We strongly condemn all forms of violence, which is enemy of diplomacy and intolerable in any civilised society,” he wrote on X.
“Our best wishes go out to POTUS and the American people.”
Past attempts on life
Saturday was the first time Trump had attended the correspondents’ dinner as president.
He was the subject of two assassination attempts in 2024, after he left the White House in 2021 and while he was campaigning for reelection.
The most serious occurred while Trump was campaigning at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. Trump was shot and wounded in his upper ear by a 20-year-old gunman. The gunman was shot dead by security personnel.
Just over two months after the Butler shooting, Secret Service agents spotted a man wielding a gun and hiding in bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while Trump was on the course. It was deemed an assassination attempt, and the suspect was sentenced to life in prison in February.
The site of Saturday’s dinner, the Washington Hilton, was the scene of an attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded by a would-be assassin outside the hotel in 1981.
