Trump safe, suspect in custody after shooting incident outside White House Correspondents Dinner
The suspect in the shooting incident was in custody, the Secret Service said.
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and other dignitaries were removed by security after a shooting incident outside the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night.
In a chaotic scene that unfolded inside the Washington Hilton hotel ballroom, officers in tactical gear with long guns jumped over tables, brandishing their weapons as the president and other dignitaries, such as Vice President JD Vance, were rushed from the stage.
Attendees ducked under their tables.
The shooting incident took place near the main magnetometer screening area at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, according to the Secret Service.
"Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely," he said in a social media post.
In a White House briefing Saturday night, Trump told reporters the suspect, a California resident, allegedly charged a security checkpoint "armed with many weapons," and was subdued by Secret Service.
Trump said that a Secret Service member was shot but the bullet hit the agent's protective vest. The president said he spoke with the agent and he was in good spirits.
"I told him we love him and respect him and he's a very proud guy," he said.
Law enforcement is continuing to conduct the investigation.
Saturday was the first correspondents' dinner that Trump had attended as president. He was scheduled to speak.
The dinner was underway and Trump, the first lady and other dignitaries were sitting at the main table and White House Correspondents' Association President Weijia Jiang were chatting with the dinner's host Oz Pearlman, when some attendees said they heard several loud bangs shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET.
In a social media post, Trump praised the Secret Service for their work.
"Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely," he said.
In a later post, Trump said law enforcement requested attendees leave the premises and the the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days.
"Law Enforcement has requested that we leave the premises, consistent with protocol, which we will do, immediately," Trump said.
Jiang initially told the crowd at the Washington Hilton ballroom that the program would continue however she later told the crowd that they had to leave.
"I said earlier tonight that journalism is a public service because when there is an emergency, we run to the crisis, not away from it," she told the crowd.
"And on a night when we are thinking about the freedoms in the First Amendment, we must also think about how fragile they are. I saw all of you reporting, and that's what we do," Jiang added.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
