Donald Trump called the gunman “sick” and vowed to “let the show go on” in the moments after he was rushed from the stage, following gunfire at a coveted media event in Washington.
The White House Correspondents’ annual dinner was ultimately called off, after a Secret Service officer was shot by a man who charged a security checkpoint.
He never made it near the main stage.
The officer survived thanks to a “very good” bulletproof vest, said US President Trump.
“The vest did the job. I just spoke to the officer and he’s doing great.”
While, the attacker, named as Cole Tomas Allen, was taken into custody within a minute.
“He looked pretty evil,” he said. “My impression is he was a lone wolf, a whack job. These are crazy people, and they have to be dealt with.”
He initially thought the sound of gunfire was the result of a tray being dropped.
“I thought it was a tray going down many times,” he said. “There was a gun and some people really understood that quite quickly. Other people didn’t. I was watching to see what was happening, probably should have gotten down a little faster.”
CCTV posted onto Donald Trump’s social media accounts showed the moment the gunman ran through a metal detector.
A security officer in front of him appeared to double over, then a second later had his own gun out and joined the pursuit of the suspect.
“Stay down, we got one down,” one officer yelled.
The Washington Hilton was full of journalists and mobile phone footage later showed the shirtless shooter face down, with his hands cuffed behind his back. He appeared unhurt, but was later being “evaluated” at a local hospital.
Metropolitan Police Department Chief Jeff Carroll said the suspect was not shot and defended security arrangements.
“When he reached that checkpoint, Secret Service agents and law enforcement engaged him immediately,” Mr Carroll said.
“They were able to bring him into custody and prevent anyone from being harmed.”
The American President was still dressed in his tuxedo when he held a press conference about the incident and accused the shooter of attacking the constitution by targeting a “very beautiful” evening.
“He’s a sick person, a very sick person and we don’t want things like this to happen,” Mr Trump said.
“They’re talking about free speech and our constitution, that’s what it’s all about, not just White House Correspondents, it was really based on free speech in our constitution.
“We’ll do it again within the next 30 days and we’ll make it bigger and better and even nicer.”
But the candour and comedy that the annual event is known for will likely never be the same after the security scare.
It was the first time Donald Trump had attended while President, amid a fractious relationship with the American press.
Former news anchor turned political advisor Kari Lake called security at the event “shockingly lax”.
“These reporters have spent a decade spreading absolute lies about President Trump. They share some of the blame for what happened tonight,” she said on X.
There were reportedly no metal detectors set up at the hotel’s entrances.
Conservative policy adviser turned commentator Sean Davis called it an “unmitigated failure” and blamed a “rotten” culture inside the Secret Service.
But Mr Trump praised the “brave” response of law enforcement.
He was on the main stage, seated between wife Melania and CBS Correspondent Weijia Jang when the shooting erupted.
Video showed a plainclothes security officer in a tux rush behind him within ten seconds of a shot.
The President appeared to stumble as he was pulled to safety and uniformed officers with long arm rifles jumped onto the stage.
The audience was told to “stay down” as one person was heard yelling “God Bless America” and “USA, USA”.
US Vice-President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson were also quickly evacuated.
FBI director Kash Patel, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and pregnant White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt were also among about 2600 guests, who ducked under tables.
“I hit the floor at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner mid conversation with Rep. Jamie Raskin, who heroically protected me, whispering, “You’re ok, you’re ok, you’re ok,” Kerry Kennedy wrote on Facebook.
“Then the doors burst open, and scores of Secret Service agents rushed into the room, many with hands on holsters.”
Erica Kirk was visibly distraught as she was escorted from the room, seven months after her husband Charlie was assassinated.
“I just want to go home,” she said in video posted by CNN.
A motive for the shooting was unclear. Officials said the suspect was carrying knives, a shotgun and a handgun. He was staying as a guest in the hotel.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer saw the gunman inside the secured part of the venue, outside the ballroom itself.
“The shooter was clearly on the ground shooting when I saw him, I was only a few feet away,” he said.
“The gunshots were so loud, so frightening, that it scared all of us . . . we had no idea what was going on.”
Police confirmed security officials and the man exchanged fire, but wouldn’t say how many shots were fired. Witnesses said they heard seven or eight shots.
A search warrant was being executed at the suspect’s home address in California.
“It’s a dangerous profession,” Mr Trump said. “Nobody told me this was such a dangerous profession.”
The US Secret Service, which has the motto “Worthy of Trust and Confidence”, will again come under intense scrutiny in the fallout from another security breach.
“Tonight we saw exactly what our brave men and women do each and every day to protect our protectees,” director Sean M. Curran said, in a statement.
“It’s not easy and I will tell you that they performed admirably. We got to see what they do. And that individual, when he charged a checkpoint was apprehended. It shows that our multi-layered protection works”.
President Trump has been targeted before, with at least two close calls.
His ear was grazed when a gunman opened fire at a rally in Pennsylvania in July 2024.
An independent review of the shooting warned that the Secret Service “does not perform at the elite levels needed” and has become “bureaucratic, complacent and static”.
In September 2024, a man armed with a rifle hid in bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida.
Ryan Routh was convicted of attempted assassination and sentenced to life in prison.
Donald Trump suggested it’s a badge of an honour.
“I’ve studied assassinations,” he said. “And I must tell you the most impactful people, the people that do the most, you take a look at Abraham Lincoln . . . the people that make the biggest impact, they’re the ones that they go after.
“I hate to say I’m honoured by that, but I’ve done a lot. We’ve changed this country, and there are a lot of people that are not happy about that. So I think that’s the answer.”
And he suggested the latest attempt is further justification for his $400 million renovation of The White House to replace the east wing with a ballroom.
“It’s drone proof. It’s bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom. That’s why Secret Service, that’s why the military are demanding it,” Mr Trump said.
Anthony Albanese applauded the “swift action” of the Secret Service, while Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said “political violence has no place in any democracy”.
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