The Secret Service officer who was shot during the White House Correspondents' Dinner was saved when the bullet hit his mobile phone, according to a report.
The officer, whose identity has not been disclosed, has since been discharged from hospital following the incident at the Washington Hilton hotel.
According to a law enforcement summary report, seen by the Atlantic, the gunman charged a Secret Service screening area in the hotel lobby, discharging at least one shot.
The agent was wearing a bulletproof vest, but according to the report that bullet was also stopped, in part, by the officer's phone.
Anthony Gugliemi, the US Secret Service chief of communications, said the protective equipment "helped us avoid a potential tragedy."
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, has since been identified as the gunman, and is due to appear before a federal court on Monday, facing charges including assault on a federal officer, discharging a firearm, and potentially attempted assassination.
Allen was carrying a 12-gauge shotgun, a .38-caliber handgun, and multiple knives when he stopped the building.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that initial findings indicate Allen had been targeting administration officials, with the President likely among those in his sights.
Officials recovered an "anti-Christian" manifesto sent to family members shortly before the attack, in which Allen referred to himself as the "Friendly Federal Assassin.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was attended by 2,500 people, including Donald Trump, his wife Melania, and vice-president JD Vance.
The US President and First Lady were rushed to safety by secret service agents along with other senior members of the administration, as journalists dived for cover during the attack on Saturday night.
Trump has described the suspect as a "lone wolf whack job", while praising the secret service and adding that the gunman was not close to breaching the ballroom where he sat on stage at the time of the incident.
Trump said: “I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was, in one way, very beautiful, a very beautiful thing.
“To see a man charge a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of secret service, and they acted very quickly.”
