WASHINGTON — Secret Service agents rushed President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump out of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner Saturday night after a man opened fire with a shotgun on security personnel, officials said.
The armed man fired at a Secret Service agent, an FBI official told Reuters. About two hours after the incident, Trump told reporters at the White House that the officer was saved by his bulletproof vest and is in "good shape."
The suspect, whom Trump described as a "sick person," was arrested.
All federal officials at the dinner, including Trump, were safe.
Security officials evacuate U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., as a shooter opens fire on Saturday evening during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
Trump says shooter 'looked pretty evil'
"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 said at a White House press conference after the incident.
People are also reading…
Closed-circuit TV footage released by Trump on social media showed someone running rapidly through a security checkpoint, momentarily catching security personnel off-guard before they quickly drew their weapons.
"You know, he charged from 50 yards away, so he was very far away from the room. He was moving. He was really moving," Trump said after the gala dinner was canceled.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks Saturday night next to Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel, right, and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at a news briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., following the shooting incident.
Officials believe he is a "lone wolf" who acted alone, Trump said, adding, "He was a guy who looked pretty evil when he was down."
Trump said federal agents were raiding the California home of the suspected shooter.
Anthony Guglielmi, a Secret Service spokesman, said the service was investigating a shooting near the main screening area at the entrance to the event.
U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, next to CBS °µÍø³Ô¹Ï senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang, attend the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday evening in Washington, D.C.
After the sound of shots, dinner attendees immediately stopped talking and people started screaming “Get down, get down!" Many of the 2,600 attendees took cover while waiters fled to the front of the dining hall.
Security agents pushed Cabinet officials to the ground, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
Other security personnel in combat fatigues stormed the stage and evacuated Trump and his wife. Some security personnel took up position on the stage, pointing their rifles into the ballroom. Cabinet members were evacuated from the venue one by one.
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, a marquee fixture of Washington’s social calendar each year, was also attended by many members of Trump’s Cabinet and other senior administration officials. The event is held in the basement ballroom of the Hilton hotel.
Attendees leave the venue as a shooter opens fire on Saturday during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
Shooting follows 2024 assassination attempts
Trump and the first lady bent down behind the dais before being hustled out by Secret Service officers. Trump stayed backstage about one hour, a source told Reuters. "We are staying," he was overheard saying, the source said.
Trump posted on social media that he hoped the dinner, the first he has attended as president, could be rescheduled in 30 days.
Security officials react as a shooter opens fire on Saturday during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
He was the subject of two assassination attempts in 2024 while he was campaigning for reelection after leaving the White House in 2021.
The most serious attempt occurred while Trump was campaigning at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. Officials said a 20-year-old gunman shot and wounded Trump in his upper ear. The gunman was shot dead by security personnel.
Security officials evacuate U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Cheryl Hines, as a shooter opens fire on Saturday during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
Just more than two months after the Butler shooting, Secret Service agents spotted a man wielding a gun and hiding in bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while Trump was on the course.
It was deemed an assassination attempt and the suspect was sentenced to life in prison in February.
The site of Saturday's dinner, the Washington Hilton, was the scene of an attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded by a would-be assassin outside the hotel in 1981.
President Donald Trump was swiftly escorted off the stage by Secret Service at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC, on Saturday.
Scenes from the 2026 White House Correspondents Dinner shooting incident
U.S. President Donald Trump salutes Saturday during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
Security officials stand guard Saturday as a shooter opens fire during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
Security officials react as a shooter opens fire Saturday during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
A security official runs with a bag Saturday as a shooter opens fire during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
Guests react Saturday 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. Picture taken using a mobile phone.
Guests take cover Saturday 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. Picture taken using a mobile phone.
A guest takes cover Saturday 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 in Washington, D.C.
Guests take cover Saturday after U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C. Picture taken using a mobile phone.
Security officials evacuate a guest Saturday as a shooter opens fire during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
People evacuate the venue of the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday after a reported shooting incident in Washington, D.C.
A police officer directs attendees Saturday outside the venue following a shooting incident during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Marshals and other law enforcement personnel work at the venue following a shooting incident Saturday during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
Members of the National Guard rush next to the red carpet of the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday after a reported shooting incident in Washington, D.C.
Attendees depart from the venue following a shooting incident Saturday during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his wife, Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, wait Saturday at one of the West Wing entrances to be let in after U.S. President Donald Trump returned to the White House in Washington, D.C., following a shooting incident during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks Saturday night next to Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel, right, and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche at a news briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., after a shooting incident during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
U.S. first lady Melania Trump listens as U.S. President Donald Trump holds a news briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., following a shooting incident during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
Journalists use a mobile phone to watch a news briefing U.S. President Donald Trump held Saturday night at the White House, at the venue of the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C., after a reported shooting incident.
Journalists raise their hands to ask questions Saturday night as U.S. President Donald Trump holds a news briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., after a shooting incident during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
