Summary of what we know so far
Here is a wrap of what unfolded during a dramatic night in Washington DC:
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Donald and Melania Trump were evacuated from the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday evening after the event at the Washington Hilton was interrupted by gunfire.
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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”.
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The Metropolitan police department’s Jeff Carroll said a suspect “charged a US Secret Service checkpoint” armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives, before he was tackled to the ground and handcuffed. He appeared to have been a “lone” gunman, Carroll said.
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The US attorney for the District of Columbia said the suspect had been charged with felony firearm and assault charges.
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The shooting suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, according to the Associated Press and multiple news outlets.
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DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said the suspect was transported to a local hospital where he was being “evaluated”.
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News crews and officers gathered outside the California home of the suspect.
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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.
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The president said he would have preferred to return to the ballroom to give his speech but said the gala would be rescheduled “within 30 days”.
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Trump said the Secret Service did a better job than the assassination attempt in Butler. “He was fast,” Trump said of the suspect.
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World leaders condemned an act of “political violence” and expressed relief that Trump, officials and journalists were unharmed.
Key events
The ‘mulit-layered’ security measures in place at the dinner
The suspect detained after a shooting is believed to have made it past the outermost layer of security at the event because he was a guest of the hotel, officials said.
Security for the annual event is always tight when the president attends and law enforcement argued that their “multi-layered protection” at the Washington Hilton worked as designed.
Jeffery Carroll, the interim Metropolitan police chief, told reporters said investigators believe the suspect was staying in the hotel and that appears to be how he was able to enter the hotel at the time of the event.
The hotel was closed to the public from 2pm in anticipation of the dinner, which began at 8pm.
Access to the hotel was restricted to hotel guests, people with tickets to the dinner itself, an invitation to one of the receptions that are held at the hotel before or after the dinner, or documents from the White House Correspondents’ Association indicating affiliation with the dinner.
The 2,300 guests at the event in the hotel’s cavernous ballroom had to pass through several additional checks to enter the room, including showing tickets to volunteers and hotel staff and passing through magnetometers.
Inside the ballroom for the dinner itself there were further security measures. The Secret Service maintained another perimeter around the president that included a buffer separating him and others seated at the head table from the rest of the attendees.
Secret Service agents were at their posts in front of the stage and in its wings, as were heavily armed counter-assault agents ready to respond to threats.
In pictures: Chaos as Trump whisked from press dinner after shots fired
Our picture editors have put together a gallery of the scenes that unfolded at the Washington Hilton ballroom.
Summary of what we know so far
Here is a wrap of what unfolded during a dramatic night in Washington DC:
-
Donald and Melania Trump were evacuated from the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday evening after the event at the Washington Hilton was interrupted 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 Metropolitan police department’s Jeff Carroll said a suspect “charged a US Secret Service checkpoint” armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives, before he was tackled to the ground and handcuffed. He appeared to have been a “lone” gunman, Carroll said.
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The US attorney for the District of Columbia said the suspect had been charged with felony firearm and assault charges.
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The shooting suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, according to the Associated Press and multiple news outlets.
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DC Mayor Muriel Bowser said the suspect was transported to a local hospital where he was being “evaluated”.
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News crews and officers gathered outside the California home of the suspect.
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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.
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The president said he would have preferred to return to the ballroom to give his speech but said the gala would be rescheduled “within 30 days”.
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Trump said the Secret Service did a better job than the assassination attempt in Butler. “He was fast,” Trump said of the suspect.
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World leaders condemned an act of “political violence” and expressed relief that Trump, officials and journalists were unharmed.
Timeline of the how the shooting unfolded
Here’s a timeline of the incident at the White House press dinner and its immediate aftermath:
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At about 8.35pm ET, guests at the Washington Hilton dinner took cover when shots were heard, video footage showed. Soon after, Secret Service agents rushed towards Donald Trump, escorting the president and his cabinet from the ballroom.
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A sole gunman had rushed a Secret Service checkpoint in a lobby, Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and interim police chief Jeffery Carroll later told reporters.
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The suspect charged the Secret Service checkpoint in the hotel’s lobby area and was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives, Carroll said. As the suspect ran through that checkpoint, Secret Service members intercepted him.
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A Secret Service agent was injured and transported to a local hospital, the mayor said, adding the suspect was also transferred to a local hospital where he was evaluated.
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“We do know that law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the individual … The suspect in this case, he was not struck by gunfire,” Carroll said. “Law enforcement … they actually tackled him into the ground and handcuffed him.”
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At about 9.17pm, Trump made his first comments after the shooting, saying law enforcement “acted quickly and bravely”. Trump posted on Truth Social that “the shooter has been apprehended.” Trump said he recommended that the event continue.
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About 20 minutes later, Trump posted again, saying law enforcement asked him and others to leave the premises of the venue and that he was complying with that request. The event will be rescheduled “within 30 days”, Trump said.
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Around 10.30pm, Trump addressed the media in a press conference at the White House, accompanied by the director of the FBI and the acting US attorney general. Trump and other law enforcement officials said preliminary information suggested the suspect was a lone shooter.
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Around 11.13pm, Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, told reporters the suspect was being charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
World leaders react to Washington shooting: ‘Violence must never be the way’
World leaders have condemned an act of “political violence” and expressed relief that Donald Trump, officials and journalists were unharmed after the shooting incident in Washington DC.
Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, whose government had been locked in tense trade talks with the US, said on X: “I am relieved that the President, the First Lady, and all guests are safe following reports of gunfire at the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington tonight.
“Political violence has no place in any democracy and my thoughts are with all those who have been shaken by this disturbing event.”
Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum said it was “good that President Trump and his wife are safe following the recent events”.
“We send them our respect. Violence must never be the way,” Sheinbaum said.
Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese said he was pleased to hear all attendees were safe. “We applaud the work of the Secret Service and law enforcement agencies for their swift action,” he said in a statement.
Read more:
Trump says shooting won’t ‘deter’ him from Iran war
Donald Trump said the shooting at the White House press dinner would not deter him from the Iran war, although he believed the incident was unlikely linked to the conflict.
“It’s not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, I really don’t think so, based on what we know,” Trump told reporters at the White House after the incident.
But Trump had earlier said that “you never know” if it could be linked to the Iran war, and said investigators were working on the motive of the shooter who he described as a “lone wolf”.
Trump shares footage of suspected shooter running through checkpoint
CCTV footage from the event that was shared by President Trump on his Truth Social account, showing the alleged shooter running through a security checkpoint.
“He charged from 50 yards away, so he was very far away from the room. He was moving. He was really moving,” Trump said after the gala dinner was cancelled.
Lawmakers and journalists were in shock after a Washington media tradition turned violent on Saturday night, halting the White House correspondents’ dinner while the first course of burrata and greens sat on their plates, the Guardian’s Cate Brown writes.
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.
Read the full story below.
Here’s what we know of the shooting incident:
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Donald and Melania Trump were evacuated from the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday evening after the event was interrupted by loud gunshots.
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A suspect was in custody after “charging” through the security checkpoint and past law enforcement officers stationed at the entrance of the venue, according to law enforcement officials. Security footage shows a man sprinting through the metal detectors, as officers race toward him with their guns drawn. The suspect was not shot but was being evaluated in the hospital. The suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives, police said.
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The shooting suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, according to the Associated Press and multiple news organizations.
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Trump addressed reporters from the White House shortly after the incident and vowed to reschedule the gala.
Some news crews have gathered outside the California home of the suspect, identified by multiple news outlets including the Associated Press as Cole Tomas Allen.
According to local reporters, the suspect is a 31-year-old teacher from Torrance, California.
A formal White House “lid” was called at 11:19 EST – a term used by the press office to inform the pool of reporters covering the president that he is not expected to make any further public appearances or remarks that day.
“We have a travel/photo lid at 11:19 on this shocking and unexpectedly newsy day,” pool reporter Jeff Mordock of the Washington Times wrote in his final note of the evening. “I hope everyone who attended tonight’s WHCA dinner is safe and doing ok.”
House speaker Mike Johnson said on X that he and his wife were at the gala and were “thankful no innocent people were harmed and everyone is now safe”.
“We’re grateful as always for the law enforcement and first responders who acted so quickly to bring the situation under control. Praying for our country tonight,” Johnson said.
Former speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement that it was a “great relief” the president, first lady and all attenders were safe “following a terrifying act of violence inside the venue”.
She added: “As someone whose family has suffered political violence, my prayers are with the injured officer and all those affected by the trauma of these horrible incidents.”
Carroll, the DC police chief, said the investigation was “preliminary” but that investigators believed the suspect did fire a shot. While the suspect is being evaluated in the hospital, Carroll said the suspect was not shot.
Carroll said it was too soon to know who the suspect was targeting or what his motive was. But he said investigators believe the suspect was registered as a guest at the Washington Hilton hotel, where the gala took place.
Suspect faces preliminary firearms and assault charges, US attorney for DC says
Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, said the defendant has been charged with felony firearms and assault charges.
Pirro was a guest in the ballroom when the man charged through the checkpoint.
“Because that checkpoint worked, there was no who was injured,” she said.
Washington DC mayor says suspected shooter taken to a hospital
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser is speaking in DC where she gave an update on the incident and ensuing investigation. She said the suspect was transported to a local hospital where he was being “evaluated”.
“We have no reason to believe at this time that anyone else was involved,” she said.
Jeff Carroll, the interim chief of police of the Metropolitan police department, said he appeared to have been a “lone” gunman. He said the suspect “charged a US Secret Service checkpoint” at the Washington Hilton. He said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.
There “does not appear to be any sort of danger to the public” at this point,” he said.
Shooting suspect named as Cole Tomas Allen, according to Associated Press
The shooting suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, the Associated Press is reporting, citing two law enforcement officials.
Trump said FBI agents were searching the suspect’s home in California.
The president has finished taking questions for the evening and promised more details to come.
During his remarks, he said the rescheduled gala would be “better” and “safer”.
“I see so many tuxedos and beautiful dresses,” Trump told the hastily assembled press corps. “It was a little different evening than we thought. But we’re going to do it again.”
Trump tells a packed briefing room the shooter was ‘fast’
Joseph Gedeon
The White House press briefing room remains packed to the brim, with Trump, flanked by cabinet officials, vice-president JD Vance, first lady Melania and others.
Trump said Secret Service did a better job today than the assassination attempt in Butler.
“He was fast,” Trump said of the shooter.
He also told reporters “I guess” he was the target at the event and said the attacker was a “wack job”.
He called it “crazy” and said “I want to live because I want to make this country great.”
In the briefing room, Trump was flanked from left to right by Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, Karoline Leavitt, Melania, JD Vance, Todd Blanche, Trump in center, then Kash Patel and Markwayne Mullin on the right.
Many of the reporters were also wearing gowns and tuxedos, having come directly from the dinner or a party happening nearby.
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