US President Donald Trump and other officials were rushed to safety on Saturday night when a gunman sprinted past a security checkpoint and opened fire outside a gala for journalists in a Washington hotel.
The man was apprehended after he shot one Secret Service agent. Mr Trump said the officer had been wearing a bulletproof vest and was in “great shape”.
Speaking at a White House press conference shortly after the incident, the President said a “sick person” who seemed to be acting as a “lone wolf” was responsible.
More than 2,500 journalists and guests were settling into their meals in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton for the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner when the man ran past the checkpoint on the floor above the chamber.
The National's Jihan Abdalla heard about five shots outside the cavernous ballroom. She and other guests dived for cover under tables. Some assembled barriers from chairs close to one of the entrances to the ballroom.
A law enforcement official identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, a California resident aged about 31 years old. Little was immediately known about Mr Allen's background, but social media postings suggested he was a teacher in Torrance, near Los Angeles.
Jeffery Carroll, interim chief of the Washington Metropolitan Police Department, said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and knives.
When asked if he thought the attacker was targeting him, Mr Trump said: “I guess I mean, these people, they're crazy.”
Mr Trump was sitting on the main stage along with his wife Melania, Vice President JD Vance and several other guests, when shots rang out on the floor above the ballroom. Mr Trump said he initially attributed the noise to what he thought was someone dropping a tray.
He posted grainy security video that appeared to show an attacker sprinting past security agents, who then drew their weapons and seemingly opened fire.
“It was, in one way, very beautiful, a very beautiful thing to see a man charge a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service, and they acted very quickly,” Mr Trump said.
Mr Trump also posted images of a man, presumably the suspected shooter.
CNN reported that the suspect is a 31-year-old man from Los Angeles.
“I guess he lives in California, and he's a sick person, a very sick person,” Mr Trump said.
The President added that he wanted to re-run the dinner within the next 30 days.
“We're going to do it again,” he said. “We're not going to let anybody take over our society. We're not going to cancel things out.”
CNN reported the shooter had opened fire in a lobby close to the ballroom where the annual media gala is held.
“There were a lot of police there, took care of him relatively quickly, and the incident looks like it's over, but it was a very frightening incident,” CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, who witnessed the shooting, told the network.
Several members of Mr Trump's Cabinet were also present at the dinner.
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FBI agents outside a house associated with Cole Tomas Allen, the chief suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondent's Dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel. Reuters -
An FBI tactical team prepares to enter Mr Allen's house in Torrance, California. He had already been arrested after the shooting in which no one was killed. AFP -
US President Donald Trump during a press briefing at the White House in Washington shortly after the shooting. AFP -
Mr Trump takes questions at the White House. One Secret Service agent was hit but was wearing a bulletproof vest and was thought to be uninjured. AFP -
Mr Trump looking shaken after the shooting. Reuters -
Mr Trump is escorted out under guard after the shooting. Reuters -
An armed agent clambering over chairs after loud noises were heard. AFP -
Guests take cover after the President and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Reuters -
US House Speaker Mike Johnson is taken to safety. Reuters -
The Trumps, alongside CBS News senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang. Reuters -
Security personnel on alert after shots were fired. The National's senior US correspondent Jihan Abdalla heard about five shots outside the cavernous ballroom and dived for cover, alongside others. EPA -
Guests comfort each other after the shooting. Reuters -
A security officer on alert after shots were fired. EPA -
Guests take cover. Reuters -
A Secret Service agent pulls his gun. Reuters -
Frightened guests embrace after the incident. Reuters -
Law enforcement officers surround Robert F Kennedy Jr, US Secretary of Health and Human Services, and his wife, actress and comedian Cheryl Hines. Bloomberg -
US Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth and his wife Jennifer Rauchet return to the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner after the reported shooting in Washington. Reuters -
A National Guard officer responds to reports of a shooting. Bloomberg -
A police officer walks through the lobby of the Washington Hilton after shots were heard during the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington. AFP -
Agents draw their guns after loud noises were heard. AFP -
Mr Trump during the annual dinner in Washington. Reuters -
US President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington. EPA
Mr Trump said a suspect had been apprehended.
Guests attending the dinner must go through tight security to get into the venue and hundreds of police and other law enforcement officials were at the hotel.
Mr Trump was the target of an assassination attempt in July 2024 at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A bullet nicked his ear in the attack and a member of the audience was killed.
In September that same year, Mr Trump was unharmed in another assassination attempt, when a man with an AK-47-type rifle fitted with a scope was stopped before he could fire at the Republican presidential candidate, who was playing golf in Florida.
The Washington Hilton was the site of an assassination attempt against then-president Ronald Reagan in 1981. He was outside the building when he was shot.
