US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance were rushed out from the White House correspondents’ dinner at the Washington Hilton following a shooting incident.
The president, the first lady, and members of Trump’s Cabinet were unharmed. Officials say the suspect – who was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives – rushed a Secret Service checkpoint at the hotel at about 8:36pm local time on Saturday (00:36 GMT, Sunday).
The suspect traded gunfire with a law enforcement officer, who was hit in his bulletproof vest and is now receiving treatment at a local hospital. The suspect was not struck by gunfire. Hundreds of guests hid under tables in the ballroom as US Secret Service agents with guns drawn rushed reporters out of the room and mentioned “shots fired”.
The suspect has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California. Officials say the suspect was from California and believe that he acted alone. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said the suspect was transported to a local hospital where he was being “evaluated”.
He will be arraigned in a federal court on Monday. He will be charged with two counts of “using a firearm during a crime of violence” and for “assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon”.
The acting police chief of the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, DC, Jeffery Carroll said the suspect “was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives” as he ran through the checkpoint at the Washington Hilton. The suspect was then intercepted.
Trump was keen to see the event continue, but Secret Service insisted that he return to the White House, which he did. Trump later said one officer was shot but was “saved by the fact that he was wearing an obviously very good bulletproof vest”. He praised the law enforcement response.
“We thought that some of the plates for the dinner fell, and next thing you know, we all went under the table screaming,” said Jamie Raskin, a Maryland congressman who was among the 2,000 attendees gathered to celebrate press freedom. It was the first time that Donald Trump chose to attend the annual Washington event.
CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said that he was “a few feet away” from the shooter. “The first thing that went through my mind: is he trying to shoot me?” Blitzer said in a CNN interview. “I don’t think he was trying to shoot me, but I was very close to him as the gunshots were fired and he was very, very scary. But I’m OK, now.”
Kerry Kennedy, a lawyer and human rights activist, said in a post that Raskin had whispered “you’re OK, you’re OK, you’re OK” to her from beneath their table.
Another guest estimated that he waited about five to 10 minutes under the table before Secret Service corralled the black tie attendees out of the dinner hall.
World leaders condemned an act of “political violence” and expressed relief that Trump, officials and journalists were unharmed.
Washington Hilton was site of assassination attempt on Reagan in 1981 The hotel at which the shooting occurred this evening is also known as the Reagan Hotel.
It earned that nickname after John Hinckley Jr’s attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan there in 1981. That event is perhaps what the hotel is most famous for, and not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which is also held there every year.
(Agencies; Picture Courtesy: Reuters, AP)
