Trump uninjured after security incident at White House press gala

Secret service agents respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington D.C., April 25. AP-Yonhap

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secret Service agents bundled Donald Trump from the stage as shots rang out Saturday evening at a media gala, in what the president later described as an attack by a "would-be assassin."

Armed guards opened fire at the gunman who charged through a security checkpoint just outside the ballroom of the hotel where Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, senior government officials and hundreds of other black-tie guests had gathered.

People dived under tables in chaotic scenes as Secret Service teams swarmed into the glitzy White House Correspondents' Association dinner held annually at the Washington Hilton in the US capital.

"A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of the Secret Service," Trump told a press conference at the White House shortly after the incident.

"They seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I feel that too," he said, after posting video of the gunman sprinting past security as guards drew their weapons. The man was detained at the scene.

Repeated security lapses

Trump said one officer was shot at close range but appeared to not be critically injured. He added that the venue was "not a particularly secure" facility as questions swirled about the president's safety.

Trump said at the hastily arranged news conference that he first thought the noise was a tray being dropped before he realized it was gunfire. He said he planned to re-schedule the media gala within a month despite the security scare.

City officials said the suspect, who will be arraigned in court on Monday on firearm and assault charges, appeared to have been a guest at the hotel. He was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives.

"Law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the individual," Washington police chief Jeffery Carroll told reporters. "A US Secret Service uniformed division officer was struck in his vest. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He appears to be in good spirits."

As the incident erupted, tactical teams with guns drawn took position on the stage where Trump had been sitting during dinner before he was evacuated.

Police surrounded the hotel, and helicopters hovered overhead.

The security breach occurred after the welcoming speech and during dinner, before Trump was due to speak.

Cabinet members were evacuated first as confusion and concern spread through the partying guests.

One administration official, Mehmet Oz, told journalists "shots fired upstairs" as he was rushed out by security.

Guests take cover behind a table after U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner by Secret Service agents after a loud, unidentified noise, in Washington, D.C., April 25. Reuters-Yonhap

Event was about to take place

Trump's attendance at Saturday's annual dinner in Washington for his first time as president is putting his administration's often-contentious relationship with the press on full public display.

Trump arrived to an event where the leaders of a nation at war mingled with celebrities, journalists and even a puppet — Triumph the Insult Comic Dog — in a dinner that typically generates debate about whether the relationship between journalists and their sources should include socializing together and putting aside sometimes adversarial relationships.

Trump was being watched closely at the event held by the organization of reporters who cover him and his administration. Past presidents who have attended have generally spoken about the importance of free speech and the First Amendment, adding in some light roasts about individual journalists.

The Republican president did not attend during his first term or the first year of his second. He came as a guest in 2011, sitting in the audience as President Barack Obama, a Democrat, made some jokes about the New York real estate developer. Trump also attended as a private citizen in 2015.

Trump entered the subterranean banquet hall of the Washington Hilton to the strains of “Hail to the Chief” and greeted prominent journalists on the dais, also pausing to laud White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt with a cheerful pointing of his finger.

Past dinners have also featured comedians who poke at presidents. This year, the group opted to hire mentalist Oz Pearlman as the featured entertainment.

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, next to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, attend the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C., April 25. Reuters-Yonhap

Glitzy annual gala

Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in 2024. A gunman fired several shots, killing an audience member and lightly wounding the president in the ear.

A few months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking from the bushes on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing a round.

The Washington Hilton where Saturday's gala was taking place was the site where Republican President Ronald Reagan was shot by a would-be assassin in 1981.

Organizers at first told guests that Saturday's dinner would continue, before announcing it had been postponed.

The White House Correspondents' Association invited Trump this year despite his repeated attacks on the media.

Unlike all other presidents from the past 100 years, Trump had never attended while in office.

The "Nerd Prom" -- as attendees dub it -- brings together journalists and the who's who of Washington to raise funds for scholarships and awards.

The event often has a comedian joking about the president, who traditionally makes a few cracks of his own, though no comedian was booked this year.