Eyewitness Caitríona Perry recounts “Everybody take cover” during Washington shooting

What began as a black-tie evening of celebration turned into a scene of panic, according to Caitríona Perry, the BBC News Chief Anchor in Washington and former RTÉ journalist, who witnessed the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner firsthand.

Ms Perry was seated in the middle of the room when US President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet were hurried out before the suspect was ⁠taken into custody.

In an interview with RTÉ’s Brendan O’Connor, she recalled hearing a “commotion” outside before the doors suddenly “burst open”.

“There was kind of a kerfuffle of breaking glass and crockery and tables being knocked over,” she said.

“Everybody jumped under the table in the dining room and the agents kept running towards the podium where the President was seated with members of the White House Correspondents’ Association, the First Lady and the Vice President.

“At the same time, agents rushed in from the side of the stage as well, bundled everyone up there onto the floor, got the President, the First Lady and the Vice President out.”

Ms Perry said the shots were fired outside the dining room, meaning much of the sound was muffled and many in attendance may not even have realised exactly what had happened at first.

“I’m sure some people were terrified because it’s not what you expect when you’re in your finery and starting into the first course of a dinner, expecting this night of celebration and party ahead of you,” she said.

“Even after the agents came in, you could hear a couple of shots, so it was unclear at that point was there a gunman in the room, was the person outside of the room, how many people are there, are they about to come in, is it one of those incidents where people are about to pop up from the table as well, how orchestrated is it?

“There was a lot of law enforcement officials with very large guns around the room and standing on the podium with their eyes peeled, so it was just that moment of confusion and a sense of not knowing what’s going on.”

Ms Perry said no formal all-clear was announced, but it gradually became evident there was no immediate threat inside the room, and guests slowly came out from beneath the tables.

She said organisers initially decided to continue with the evening once it was clear people were safe, but that plan changed when the room was ultimately declared a crime scene and everyone was ordered to leave.

“It’s a very, very divided country right now,” she said.

“Particularly in the political world, it’s very, very tense.”

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