Trump, Secret Service director say agent at dinner not shot by friendly fire
Bo Erickson and Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) – The federal agent injured during the attack on the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was not hit by friendly fire, U.S. President Donald Trump and the head of the Secret Service said on Thursday.
An agent was shot at “point-blank range” by the suspect as he passed through a security checkpoint near dinner on Saturday, U.S. Secret Service Director Sean Curran said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday.
“Our police heroically returned fire,” Curran said on “The Will Cain Show,” adding that the agent fired five times.
Curran said the suspect was unaffected by the agent’s gunfire but fell to the ground after hitting his knee. He said the suspect was subdued by other federal agents near the top of the stairs leading to the ballroom where Trump, the first lady, senior administration officials and hundreds of others were dining.
A U.S. law enforcement official also told Reuters on Thursday that the investigation concluded the Secret Service agent was not hit by “friendly fire.”
The armed suspect, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, attempted to assassinate Trump by running through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton hotel on Saturday, prosecutors allege.
TRUMP IS NOT WILLING TO WEAR A BULLETPROOF VEST
Curran’s comments differ from court documents prosecutors filed Wednesday regarding the turn of events.
Prosecutors said a police officer fired five times, but their file did not say the officer was shot.
Wednesday’s document also did not accuse Allen of aiming at or assaulting the Secret Service officer.
There are media reports suggesting the agent may have been hit by friendly fire.
“They said it wasn’t friendly fire. It wasn’t us,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday.
In his interview, Curran defended the safety protocols at the Saturday dinner venue.
“The site is set up perfectly. I will tell you I will not change the site again,” he said.
Trump didn’t seem too keen when asked if he would wear a bulletproof vest.
“I don’t know if I can handle looking 20 pounds heavier,” she said. “I think it’s something you would consider. In a way, you don’t like doing it because you’re giving in to a bad element.”
The incident has renewed concerns about the safety of the US president and other senior officials amid political violence in the US.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Christian Martinez and Bo Erickson; Editing by David Ljunggren, Michelle Nichols and Tom Hogue)
