Suspect in custody after Trump evacuated in shooting incident at White House correspondents’ dinner

0:49The moment gunshots were heard during White House correspondents' dinner – videoWhite House correspondents' dinner shootingSuspect in custody after Trump evacuated in shooting incident at White House correspondents’ dinnerUS president and first lady were unharmed and suspect is being charged with two counts of felony firearms and assault charges White House correspondents’ dinner shooting – latest updates Sign up for the Breaking News US newsletter email David Smith, Rachel Leingang, and Kira Lerner in WashingtonSun 26 Apr 2026 01.08 EDTFirst published on Sat 25 Apr 2026 20.58 EDTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleDonald and Melania Trump were evacuated from the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday evening after the event was interrupted by gunfire.A suspect was in custody, the FBI said, after the annual black-tie dinner honoring the White House press corps in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton was suddenly interrupted by confusion and chaos. Journalists ducked under tables as authorities rushed the president and members of his cabinet out of the room.The president and his wife were unharmed, and later appeared at a press conference at the White House.1:28Donald Trump says being president is a 'dangerous profession' after shooting incident – videoMuriel Bowser, the Washington DC mayor, said that a sole gunman rushed at the Secret Service in the lobby of the hotel. There was no reason to believe that anyone else was involved in the incident, she said.The suspect was in custody and being “evaluated” at a local hospital, though he did not appear to have been struck by gunfire. He was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, the Associated Press reported, citing two law enforcement officials.Jeffrey Carroll, the DC police chief, said investigators believed the suspect fired a shot and was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and knives. He also said the suspect was believed to have been a guest at the hotel. A motive for the attack had not yet emerged, officials said.Jeanine Pirro, a US attorney for the District of Columbia, said the defendant was being charged with two counts of felony firearms and assault charges and would be arraigned on Monday. She expected more charges to follow.In a press briefing from the White House later on Saturday evening, Trump praised the Secret Service and said an agent was hit by a bullet that was stopped by a ballistic vest. The violence took place “quite far away”, he said.“That was very unexpected but incredibly acted upon by Secret Service and law enforcement, and this was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press,” he said. “And in a certain way, it did, because the fact that they just unified. I saw a room that was just totally unified.”He also described the Washington Hilton as “not a particularly secure building” and argued for the merits of the construction of a ballroom at the White House. “This is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House. It’s actually a larger room, and it’s much more secure.”Weijia Jiang, the president of the White House correspondents’ dinner, told the ballroom earlier on Saturday that the president wanted to reschedule the dinner in the next 30 days.“Thank God everyone is safe, and thank you for coming together tonight,” she said. “We will do this again.”View image in fullscreenPeople leaving the White House…

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