UNITED States President Donald Trump was evacuated from the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington, DC, after shots were fired outside the event.
Trump was rushed offstage at the Washington Hilton hotel on Saturday evening after gunfire broke out outside the ballroom where the annual media gala was taking place.
The president, First Lady Melania Trump, and Trump’s Cabinet were unharmed in the attack.
In a news conference after the incident, Trump said a man armed with multiple weapons had charged a security checkpoint and was “taken down” by the Secret Service.
Trump described the suspect as a “very sick person” and a “thug” who had attacked the US Constitution.
A Secret Service officer was shot in the attack, but he was saved by his bulletproof vest and was “doing great”, Trump said.
“As you know, this is not the first time in the past couple of years that our republic has been attacked by a would-be assassin who sought to kill,” the president said.
“In light of this evening’s events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said.
Asked by a reporter if he believed he was the target of the attack, Trump responded: “I guess”.
The Secret Service said the shooting had occurred at a “screening area” and that one individual was in custody.
“The condition of those involved is not yet known, and law enforcement is actively assessing the situation,” the agency said.
Shortly before his news conference, Trump posted images on Truth Social of the suspect face down on the ground, as well as a clip of a surveillance video showing a man running past security personnel, who then drew their guns and opened fire.
Jeanine Ferris Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, said the suspect would be charged with using a firearm during a crime or violence and assault on federal officers using a dangerous weapon.
FBI director Kash Patel said officers had begun examining the suspect’s background and urged members of the public with any relevant information to come forward.
“No piece of information is too small; no piece of information is inadequate. We will evaluate it all,” Patel said.
Multiple US media outlets identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California.
Trump, a ferocious critic of journalists who has sued multiple media outlets, had been due to speak at the annual celebration of press freedom for the first time as president.
Footage from the dinner’s venue showed Trump and other attendees taking cover behind their table after shots rang out, as people yelled “Get down!” and “Stay down!”
Trump was then rushed from the scene as heavily armed members of his security detail swarmed the table.
Al Jazeera producer Chris Sheridan said he heard what he believed to be five gunshots outside the ballroom.
“We could smell the powder. We immediately dove to the ground. It was directly behind me,” Sheridan said.
“I couldn’t tell how many feet away, but it was definitely behind the doors to the entrance to the ballroom.”
Sheridan said that while there was “airport-level” security around the ballroom itself, anyone with a ticket to the dinner could enter the hotel and descend to the lower level where the ballroom is located.
“You could have gotten down to the lower level, the ballroom level, and been outside,” he said.