Secret Service says Trump is safe after event evacuation
Chaos shattered the White House Correspondents' Association dinner when US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were rushed from the venue by Secret Service agents after what the president later described as an apparent attack.
Chaos shattered the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner when US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were rushed from the venue by Secret Service agents after what the president later described as an apparent attack.
Trump said a “shooter has been apprehended” after the sudden evacuation from the dinner.
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The Secret Service said Mr Trump and his wife “are safe” after being removed in response to a loud, unidentified noise.
Officials said one person was taken into custody and that the episode unfolded near the event’s main screening area.
Other Trump administration officials at the dinner were also ushered out after a loud disturbance and noise broke out near the hotel ballroom where the event was being held.
Trump said one officer was shot but “is in great shape”.
He said officers had “totally subdued” the suspect and referred to the man as a “would-be assassin”.
Speaking separately at a press conference, the DC police chief said the suspect is expected to be arraigned tomorrow on firearms and assault charges.
She said preliminary information indicated authorities believe the man was a guest at the hotel.
US President Donald Trump and Melania Trump at the White House correspondents’ dinner
Many of the 2,600 guests ducked for cover as the loud bangs rang out, while waiters ran toward the front of the dining hall.
Tactical teams with guns drawn moved into position on the stage where Mr Trump had been seated during dinner.
Police flooded the Washington Hilton Hotel, the site of the event, as helicopters circled overhead.
In a social media post, Mr Trump praised the response, writing: “Secret Service and law enforcement did a fantastic job.
“They acted quickly and bravely.”
The disturbance began after the welcoming speech and during dinner, before Mr Trump was scheduled to address the audience.
Cabinet official Mehmet Oz said “shots fired upstairs” as security rushed him out.
Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024.
He was grazed on his right ear when a 20-year-old gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop as the Republican presidential candidate held a campaign rally in Butler on 13 July.
One audience member was killed, and the gunman, Thomas Crooks, was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.
US President Donald Trump was the target of an assassination attempt in 2024
Months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent spotted the barrel of a rifle protruding from bushes along the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Mr Trump was playing.
The Washington Hilton, where the gala was being held, is also the hotel where Republican President Ronald Reagan was shot by a would-be assassin in 1981.
Trump was attending the correspondents’ dinner for the first time while serving in office.
The White House Correspondents’ Association invited Mr Trump this year despite his repeated attacks on the media.
The decision drew backlash in newsrooms, and hundreds of journalists signed an open letter urging attendees to confront Mr Trump’s restrictions on the press.
Unlike every other president over the past 100 years, Mr Trump had never attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner while in office – until now.
Known to attendees as the “Nerd Prom”, the event brings together hundreds of Washington journalists and media executives to raise money for scholarships and awards.