Trump evacuated from Whitehouse press dinner after shots fired
A man has allegedly been apprehended after gun shots were fired at a dinner hosted by President Donald Trump.
Donald Trump and other top leaders were evacuated from the annual dinner of White House correspondents after reports of shots fired.
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There did not immediately appear to be any injuries, and both Trump and Vice President JD Vance were uninjured, an AP source said.
The security incident took place outside the room where the President and other officials were attending dinner.
Seven to eight gun shots were fired, according to a security official at the event.
Reports had since emerged that the shooter was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from Torrance, California.
Trump posted on social media a picture of the alleged shooter and said that the shooter was “apprehended.”
The secret service and other authorities swarmed the banquet hall as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck.
Trump’s attendance at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington was his first as President.
First Lady Melania Trump and Trump administration officials attending the dinner were also evacuated.
Many of the 2600 attendees took cover while waiters fled to the front of the dining hall.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer said he was outside the main ballroom where the dinner is taking place at the time of the incident and heard shots fired.
“I start hearing gunshots in the hall right near me, and the next thing I knew, a police officer threw me to the ground and was on top of me,” Blitzer told CNN.
“And then they grabbed me – the police officers – and they take me back into the men’s room, where it was safe,” he said.
White House Correspondents’ Association board member Courtney Subramanian told the BBC the incident at the ballroom was a traumatic moment for many in the room.
She said half the room dropped to the floor, including the President.
“We were lying there,” she said, adding that security whisked away the President and Vice-President before they rushed the others backstage.
Subramanian said Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk who was shot and killed at an event last year, was also whisked away and was in tears.
She said Trump’s security team said a suspected gunman was apprehended outside the ballroom and never made it into the event.
-with AAP
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