Updated ,first published
Washington, DC: A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner attended by US President Donald Trump on Saturday night (US time), charging towards the ballroom in a chaotic encounter with Secret Service agents as guests dived under tables at the sound of gunshots.
The president was uninjured and was rushed off the stage, along with other dignitaries. The armed man, who officials said was staying at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was being held, was taken into custody. He was expected in court on Monday. Police believe he opened fire and acted alone but they did not name his intended target or describe a motive.
Trump, safe and still in his tuxedo, said at a White House press conference two hours later that he guessed he was the target, saying he had “studied assassinations” and they tended to go after people who made a difference.
“When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” Trump said. “I hate to say I’m honoured by that, but I’ve done a lot.”
The alleged gunman was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California. He is facing two firearm-related charges, including a count of assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon. More charges are expected to follow.
The annual dinner for White House journalists was just getting under way when armed security rushed in. Attendees were eating a spring pea and burrata salad, and waiters were preparing to bring out the next course, when a security detail appeared on the ballroom floor and yelled for everyone to get down.
People were seen hiding behind chairs about 8.30pm Washington, DC time when Secret Service agents rushed the stage to escort Trump and other dignitaries, including Vice President JD Vance and First Lady Melania Trump, from the long table at the front of the room.
Secret Service agents yelled “shots fired”, “stay down” and “out of the way, sir!” as Trump and cabinet members were rushed out. No one was injured.
Journalists in gowns and tuxedos ducked near tables as wine splattered onto white tablecloths and glasses clinked in the hurry to seek safety. Some in the crowd reported hearing what they believed to be five to eight shots fired.
Vance was removed from the room first, while agents initially covered Trump in place before escorting him and the First Lady from the room. Trump briefly stumbled on the way offstage, before being assisted by his security detail.
Trump was held for some time in a secure presidential suite at the hotel while he and organisers initially sought to resume the event. Hotel staff refolded napkins and refilled water glasses, and aides adjusted the teleprompter for the president, but he was returned to the White House on the advice of the Secret Service.
The banquet hall, where hundreds of prominent journalists, celebrities and national leaders were awaiting Trump’s speech, was immediately evacuated. Members of the National Guard took up position inside the building, where people were allowed to leave but not re-enter.
FBI director Kash Patel said the agency was examining a long gun and shell casings recovered from the scene, as well as interviewing witnesses from the dinner. He urged anyone with information to come forward.
Interim police chief Jeff Carroll said the alleged gunman was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives when he charged a security checkpoint outside the Hilton ballroom.
The suspect was not shot during the exchange of gunfire, police said, but he was still taken to hospital for assessment.
A Secret Service agent took a bullet to his bulletproof vest, but was released from hospital early on Sunday US time. Trump said at the press conference that he had spoken to him.
“He’s doing great. He’s in great shape,” Trump said. “He was in very high spirits and we told him we love him and respect him and he is a very proud guy.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he was pleased to hear that the president and first lady and all attendees at the dinner were safe.
“We applaud the work of the Secret Service and law enforcement agencies for their swift action,” Albanese said.
Trump has been the subject of prior assassination attempts, including at a Pennsylvania rally in 2024, when his ear was grazed by a bullet.
The president said he would not change the way he went about his job despite another act of violence that was seemingly politically motivated.
He was adamant the dinner would be rescheduled and that it would be “bigger and better”.
“We’re not going to let anybody take over our society. We’re not going to cancel things out,” Trump said. “I don’t like to let these sick people, these horrible thugs, change the fabric of our lives, change what we do.”
He also praised Melania Trump for her poise during a “traumatic time”.
Trump used his press conference to advocate for the new ballroom he is in the process of having built at the White House, saying he believed tonight’s venue “wasn’t particularly secure”.
“We looked at all of the [security] conditions that took place tonight, and I will say it is not a particularly secure building,” Trump said.
“I didn’t want to say this, but this is why we have to have all the attributes of what we are planning at the White House with a larger room, and it is drone-proof, bulletproof,” he said.
“We need the ballroom. That is why Secret Service and the military are demanding it.”
Generally, the Washington Hilton, where the dinner has taken place for years, remains open to regular guests during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Security has typically been focused on the hotel ballroom itself.
In past years, that has created openings for disruptions in the lobby and other public spaces, including protests in which security removed guests who unfurled banners or staged demonstrations.
In 1981, then-president Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr outside the Hilton in an event that prompted a redesign of the property.
With AP, Bloomberg
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Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political reporter in Canberra.Connect via X or email.
Jessica McSweeney is a reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald covering state politics and urban affairs.Connect via email.
