Gunshots prompted security officials to evacuate President Donald Trump, top administration officials and some members of Congress from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
The incident occurred shortly after the start of dinner, which was the first that Trump had attended in his second term. The annual dinner honors the First Amendment and routinely includes the president, first family and senior government officials.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the incident began at 8:36 p.m., when an armed individual rushed a Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton, and she told reporters that all indications were the suspected acted alone.
Trump, in the White House briefing room after returning from the hotel, described details about the incident and praised the work of Secret Service agents and other security officials.
Trump said he had just spoken with a Secret Service agent who he said, “was shot from very close distance” but “the vest did the job.” He said local law enforcement, “also performed exactly as they were supposed to.”
Trump said he wanted to reschedule the dinner within a month. “We’ll do it again within the next 30 days and we’ll make it bigger and better and even nicer,” the president said in the White House briefing room after returning from the Washington Hilton.
Capitol Police also announced on social media that all members of Congress in attendance were “safe and secure.”
Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., told ABC News that he and Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., were sitting near the back of the event closer to where the shots rang out.
“There was probably about three or four shots, and everybody just immediately could tell they were gun shots,” Stutzman said. “And we jumped under the table, the people around me I made sure they were safe under the table.”
“We were really packed in tight, there were a lot of people in the room, and so it was very chaotic,” he said after returning to the Capitol.
The president praised the work of White House Correspondents’ Association and President Weijia Jiang of CBS News in organizing the event.
“We very much wanted to continue it because I don’t like to let these sick people, these thugs, these horrible, horrible people change the fabric of our lives, change the course of what we do,” Trump said.
Multiple government officials posted on social media that they had heard gunfire.
Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, posted on social media that all protectees were safe and law enforcement was assessing the situation. Guglielmi said the shooting incident occurred at the main magnetometer for the event and one individual was in custody.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro posted on social media that gunshots were fired at the Washington Hilton and said the U.S. Secret Service had secured the building. Pirro said that she had been evacuated from the main hall and that Bowser would soon arrive at the dinner.
Photos posted to social media showed that other officials evacuated Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., from the event. Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., also posted to social media that he and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., had also been evacuated to a secure location.
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., said in a video posted on social media that he and other officials had been evacuated from the dinner. Without evidence, Ogles connected the incident to his political opponents.
“Crazy times and you libtards are crazy,” Ogles said.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., said on social media that he was on the escalator to the lobby of the hotel when he saw armed security officials running and shouting to “watch out for crossfire” before he left the event.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., posted on social media that Trump and American officials face a stream of unprecedented threats.
“To the brave law enforcement officers who were there to protect, well done,” Graham said. “To the American people, let’s all pray for calmer waters and try to be part of the solution, not the problem.”
