Trump safe after shooting incident outside White House Correspondents Dinner
ABC NEWS-- A man armed with multiple weapons charged a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner on Saturday night, firing at a Secret Service agent and sparking chaos inside the ballroom, before he was subdued by law enforcement, President Donald Trump told reporters.
Trump posted a video showed agents take down the suspect, who he said "charged a security checkpoint armed with many weapons."
"He started running from 50 yards, and he was fast. He was like a blur on tape," Trump said of the suspect.
As agents engaged with the suspect, a chaotic scene 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.
"It is always shocking when something like this happens," Trump told reporters at a press briefing from the White House later Saturday night.
The shooting incident took place near the main magnetometer screening area at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, according to the Secret Service.
During the press briefing, 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. Trump said the suspect was a California resident.
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.
Several lawmakers inside the room described the tense scene.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., said he was at the bottom of the escalators from the lobby when two security people with guns drawn were "running through and yelling 'Watch out for crossfire!'"
"I got behind a pillar with another person then left out a back exit while hearing more commotion and police," he said.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who was shot at a practice for the Congressional Baseball Game in 2017, led him to safety.
"I personally want to thank Steve Scalise who grabbed me into a secure room," Moskowitz posted on X.
Rep. Nanette Barragan, D-Calif., said it was "absolute chaos."
"Heard the shots and had to get under our table," she posted on X.
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.
"We very much wanted to continue it, because I don't want to let these sick people these thugs change the fabric of our lives, change what we do," Trump told reporters.
Trump said he was going to make an "inappropriate" speech, but said he might change it.
"I think I will be very nice, I will be very boring," he joked,
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.
