President Donald Trump was uninjured and other top leaders of the United States were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday night after an unspecified threat.
The shooting suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press.
Trump said the suspect was armed with multiple weapons before being stopped by the Secret Service.
One officer was shot, but he was protected by a bulletproof vest. “He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job,” Trump said.
The event was scrapped and will be rescheduled, Trump added.
“Everybody in that room, record-setting crowd… there was a tremendous amount of love and coming together, I was very, very impressed by that,” Trump said.
He added that he and Melania Trump were quickly rushed off-stage.
“We’re not going to let anybody take over our society, we’re not going to do that,” Trump said.
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“I fought like hell to stay.”
Trump added that the dinner will be rescheduled.
“We will do this again,” said Weijia Jiang, president of the White House correspondents’ association.
Shortly afterward, staff began breaking down table settings and the presidential lectern.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the banquet hall at the Washington Hilton as guests dining on spring pea and burrata salad ducked under tables by the hundreds. Audible gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realized something was happening. Hundreds of journalists got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as Trump was escorted off stage. He fell briefly — he apparently tripped — and was helped up by Secret Service agents.
FBI Director Kash Patel said at a press conference after the event that people saw the best of America on Saturday night, adding that the Secret Service did exactly what they were supposed to do.
“These are crazy people,” Trump said.
Those in attendance included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — and many other leaders of the Trump administration.
Generally, the Hilton hotel, where the dinner has taken place for years, remains open to regular guests during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and security has typically been focused on the ballroom and rather than the hotel at large, with little screening for people not entering the dinner itself.
In past years, that has created openings for disruptions in the lobby and other public spaces, including protests in which security moved to remove guests who unfurled banners or staged demonstrations.
-AP journalists Alanna Durkin Richer, Michael Balsamo, Zeke Miller and Anna Johnson contributed to this report.
© 2026 The Canadian Press