A video circulating online shows Erika Kirk being escorted out of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in tears after the shooting happened at the venue on Saturday, April 25, at around 8:30 pm ET.
The footage, which has been shared on the social media platform X, shows her being guided by security personnel as she looks visibly distressed while leaving the venue. She was in tears and was repeatedly heard saying, “I just want to go home. I just want to go home.”
Erika Kirk was seen crying after shots were fired at the White House Correspondents Dinner 😬
“I just want to go home” pic.twitter.com/oUA7I26OJK
— kira 👾 (@kirawontmiss) April 26, 2026
The moment has captured attention, especially after her husband, Charlie Kirk, an ally of Trump, was shot dead in September last year while speaking at Utah Valley University.
The shooting happened at the time when the event was taking place at the Washington Hilton and people suddenly heard loud bangs.
US President Donald Trump, who was giving a speech, was immediately taken away by Secret Service agents. The shooter shot a Secret Service agent, who is now in stable condition.
Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to Trump, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and other top officials were also escorted out by the security. While FBI Director Kash Patel was evacuated from the room after reports of about five gunshots.
The event was attended by several key leaders, including First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, along with other senior officials and cabinet members. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who was on maternity leave, also attended the dinner.
Trump later appreciated the Secret Service and other enforcement officers. “Quite an evening in DC, Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“The shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON’ but, will be entirely guided by Law Enforcement.”
The armed man was identified as a 31-year-old from California. He has been taken into custody.