Distraught Erika Kirk sobs ‘I want to go home’ as she is rushed to safety following White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting
‘I just want to go home,’ Erika Kirk cried as she was rushed to safety after a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Charlie Kirk’s widow was among the first people evacuated from the Washington Hilton on Saturday night, shortly after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were sent packing.
The president of Turning Point USA was seen in tears as he walked out, accompanied by what appeared to be two Secret Service agents.
In a post shared with X, Turning Point Action sponsor Derek Myers wrote: ‘Erika is fine but very upset. “He was crying.”
It came just seven months after her husband was brutally murdered by an assassin’s bullet at Utah Valley University.
Although no deaths have been reported from D.C., the events carry haunting echoes of that fateful day in September of last year.
A source told the Daily Mail that 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, an educator from the Los Angeles area, was the alleged gunman who opened fire after breaching a security checkpoint.
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump confirmed that a Secret Service agent wearing a protective vest was shot and the suspect was captured.
Erika Kirk cried as she was evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner attack
The widow was heard screaming ‘I just want to go home’ as she was taken out
Trump was escorted out as an attacker opened fire at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington.
Kirk was among the first people to be evicted, shortly after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
Trump also shared a striking image during a news conference shortly afterwards showing the suspect shirtless and lying face down on the ground, describing him as a “sick person, a very sick person.”
‘He’s a lone wolf, crazy business. These are crazy people. “Sick, sick people,” he said.
He said the suspect was armed with multiple weapons before being stopped by the Secret Service.
In the video, the suspect is seen blurryly trying to get past the security checkpoint and reach the ballroom door.
Wolf Blitzer, who was inside the location and just feet away from the shooter, told CNN that the suspect was armed with a “big gun” and fired about six shots.
‘It looks like they caught the gunman, there was a big gun there, it was very worrying. The noise was very loud. “I was a few feet away from the gunman firing randomly, half a dozen shots were so loud,” Blitzer said.
He continued: ‘Then I realized that several police officers had jumped on me trying to protect me. I think that’s when the gunman got shot, I could be wrong but he stopped shooting.’
‘I don’t know how one person could get so close to the ballroom with such a weapon; He clearly had a gun and was clearly shooting, I don’t know if he was aiming at anyone. ‘I was a few meters away from him but it was very, very scary.’
A source told the Daily Mail that the attacker was 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, an educator from the Los Angeles area.
Guests hid behind the table after Trump and the First Lady were evacuated
Secret Service agent aims his gun at the Washington Hilton ballroom
President Trump confirms suspect captured by Secret Service
Trump shared photo to Truth Social showing suspect shirtless and face down on ground
The suspect’s identity has not yet been officially released and authorities have not confirmed the cause of the incident. It also remains unclear how the person exceeded security limits and got so close to the ballroom entrance.
It was the president’s first time attending the event since 2011 and he was scheduled to be honored and give a speech.
The biggest night of the year in DC was thrown into chaos after approximately six gunshots were heard around 8:15 pm in the lobby of the Washington Hilton, where Trump was to attend and be honored and speak for the first time since 2011.
As hundreds of people took shelter under tables, Secret Service agents and other officials filled the banquet hall and one person was heard shouting, “Get out of the way, sir.”
Cabinet members were lifted into the air over a barricade and dragged to safety.
One agent was shot but was wearing a protective vest. The condition of those hospitalized is unknown.
In a statement to the Daily Mail, a White House spokesman said: ‘The US Secret Service, in coordination with the Metropolitan Police Department, is investigating a shooting incident that occurred near the main magnetometer scanning area at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.’
‘One person is in custody. “The condition of those involved in the incident is not yet known and law enforcement is actively assessing the situation,” the statement said.
Attacker opened fire after breaching security checkpoint
Security guards rushed U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. after a shooter opened fire. and his wife, Cheryl Hines, are evicted.
Law enforcement intervened during the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
The president took to social media to share an update immediately after it was secured.
An evening at ‘DC Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a great job. “They acted quickly and boldly,” the president wrote in a letter to Truth Social.
‘The shooter has been caught and I have advised ‘LET THE SHOW CONTINUE’, but this will be entirely guided by the Police. “They will decide in a short time,” he said.
‘Whatever that decision is, the evening will be very different to what we planned and obviously we will have to do it again.’
But the presidential couple has since left the event and Trump is expected to hold a press conference at the White House on Saturday night.
