US President Donald Trump was escorted by security personnel on Saturday night after a shooting incident occurred at the White House Correspondents’ dinner at the Washington Hilton.
The event was attended by high-profile figures, including Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and FBI Director Kash Patel, along with other senior officials and cabinet members.
Timeline Of Incident Involving Trump
Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were on stage, speaking with entertainer Oz Pearlman, when an individual sprinted toward the president at around 8:30 pm ET. Guests were seated and eating dinner inside the packed ballroom, reported CNN.
At the same time, just outside the venue, a man carrying a shotgun tried to rush through a security checkpoint. He fired shots, and Secret Service agents immediately responded and chased him. A brief exchange of fire took place outside the building.
During the exchange, one of the security agents was reportedly struck by a bullet but remained protected due to wearing a bulletproof vest. “I can confirm the officer has been discharged, and the ballistic vest helped us avoid a potential tragedy last night,” Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service’s chief of communications, told the BBC.
Within seconds, the gunman was overpowered and stopped by Secret Service officers before he could enter the ballroom.
After the shooting incident began outside, armed law enforcement officers quickly entered the ballroom from multiple entrances. Immediately, loud commands like “get down” were heard across the room. Guests, staff, and servers reacted by ducking under tables and chairs.
Officers even climbed onto chairs at times to locate and call out officials they needed to evacuate.
At the same time, the head table was cleared within seconds. Vance was pulled away from his seat and moved out of the area by security personnel. Secret Service agents also formed a protective shield around Trump near the stage as the evacuation began. Erika Kirk was also evacuated by the security staff.
Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old man from Los Angeles. He was reportedly working as a teacher and video game developer. Officials also said he had registered as a guest at the hotel.