(Reuters) – President Donald Trump said “I guess” when asked whether he was the intended target of a man who charged a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner.
Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner by Secret Service agents on Saturday night after a man opened fire with a shotgun on security personnel, officials said.
The suspect, whom Trump described as a “sick person,” has been arrested.
All federal officials at the dinner, including Trump, were safe.
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.
Closed-circuit TV footage released by Trump on Truth Social 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.
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.
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.
(Reporting By Jarrett Renshaw; editing by Scott Malone)
