Acting attorney general says suspect in White House press dinner shooting was likely targeting Trump administration officials | White House correspondents’ dinner shooting
Acting US attorney general Todd Blanche said in a statement on Sunday morning that the gunman who tried to enter the ballroom at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington DC on Saturday night is believed to have targeted members of the Trump administration.
Blanche also said authorities believe the suspect traveled by train from California to Chicago to Washington, where he checked in as a guest at the Washington Hilton, one of the capital’s most glamorous annual events.
Hearing the gunshots, Donald Trump left the stage. It was seen that the US President fell to the ground, Secret Service agents protected him, then stood him up and took him out. Muffled gunshots were heard just outside the ballroom as First Lady Melania Trump was speaking with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. The two women gasped and Trump turned his head to see what was happening.
A few minutes later, J.D. Vance was whisked out of the room, in the opposite direction of the president. A 31-year-old armed suspect was subdued and is currently in custody facing criminal charges. Blanche was interviewed on NBC’s Meet the Press.
He said the alleged gunman will face charges including assault on a federal officer, use of a firearm and attempted murder of a federal officer.
In the footage captured on security cameras, a man can be seen running in the area outside the ballroom. A federal agent was shot but was wearing a bulletproof vest and was hospitalized but released Sunday.
Trump was due to speak at the annual black tie dinner honoring the White House press corps for the first time as president. But the meal was just beginning when the event in the large ballroom was suddenly interrupted by confusion and chaos.
The president, his wife and senior members of his administration were seated at a high table, with Trump seated next to Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association.
When gunshots rang out, journalists and guests ducked under tables and law enforcement officers blocked the president’s view with rifles as he was quickly escorted from the room.
Blanche said Sunday morning that he did not think the suspect in the case was cooperating with authorities. He said he did not know if it had any connection to the US-Israeli war in Iran. The suspect is expected to appear in federal court in Washington on Monday.
CNN senior correspondent and news anchor Wolf Blitzer reported seeing someone with a gun at the event.
“I saw the gunman on the ground after he started shooting,” he said. “Police officers threw him to the ground.”
Jamie Raskin, a Democratic congressman from Maryland who attended the dinner, said he didn’t see any attackers but said, “I think a Secret Service agent threw me to the ground and some other people and people were screaming and yelling.”
“I heard some loud noises but I don’t know if it was people’s reaction or if it was something coming from outside, it was hard to know but people were immediately saying it was a gunshot, it was a gunshot,” he added. “People were horrified; people now seem relieved.”
Guardian reporters in the room said there were initially mixed messages about whether press and guests should remain in the room. After being told that the event would not go ahead, the entire room was evacuated and the presidential seal was removed from the podium.
Outside the hotel, helicopters were circling overhead.
This year’s dinner was already tense, given the presence of Trump and senior members of his cabinet, including defense secretary Pete Hegseth and secretary of state Marco Rubio. Trump agreed to attend this year’s dinner after refusing to go to last year’s event and one during his first term.
Shortly after leaving Hilton, Trump held a news conference at the White House, still in his tuxedo. He said being president of the United States was a “dangerous profession.”
Law enforcement identified the suspected gunman arrested in the incident as Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, a suburb of Los Angeles.
Allen, 31, has no criminal record or civil court history in Los Angeles County, according to a records search.
Reuters and Associated Press contributed reporting
