WASHNGTON, April 26: A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner attended by President Donald Trump on Saturday night, charging toward the ballroom in a chaotic encounter with Secret Service agents as guests dived under tables at the sound of shots being fired.
The president was uninjured and was rushed off the stage. The armed man, who officials said was a guest at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was being held, was taken into custody and was expected in court on Monday.
Police believe he opened fire and acted alone but did not say who was his intended target or describe a motive.
“When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” Trump, safe and uninjured and still in his tuxedo, said at the White House two hours later. “They seem to think he was a lone wolf.”
The shooting unfolded just outside the vast subterranean ballroom holding thousands of dinner guests, disrupting minutes after it began an annual event meant to honour journalism and the First Amendment that was being especially scrutinised this year because it was the first time since Trump became president that he had attended.
Trump told reporters later that he hoped the event would be rescheduled within 30 days, though the fact that an armed man was able to rush toward the ballroom raised instant questions about security precautions at an event attended each year by senior government officials.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was tackled to the ground and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
The shooting suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, according to two law enforcement officials. He is facing two firearm-related charges, including a count of assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon.
Inside the ballroom, guests scurried for cover at the sound of shots while Secret Service agents, including the heavily-armed counterassault team, swarmed the stage after the incident.
Vice President JD Vance was removed from the room first, while agents initially covered Trump in place before escorting him and first lady Melania Trump from the room. Trump briefly stumbled on the way offstage, before being assisted by his security detail.
It was the third time since 2024 that the president had been under threat by an attacker in his immediate vicinity.
On July 13, 2024, during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired from a nearby rooftop. A bullet grazed Trump’s right ear, one attendee was killed, and others were injured.
On September 15, 2024, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh was spotted with a rifle in a “sniper’s nest” at Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach, Florida. He was captured after a Secret Service agent fired at him. Routh was later sentenced to life in prison. (AP)
