Trump safe after shooting at White House correspondents dinner, suspect in custody

President Donald 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 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".

It was not immediately clear whether Trump was the target of the attack, though he told reporters he believed that he was. The president has survived two previous attempts on his life since 2024, a period of deepening political polarization in the United States.

Suspect thought to be 'lone wolf', says Trump

A law enforcement official identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, a California resident about 31 years old. Little was immediately known about Allen's background, but social media postings suggested he was a teacher in Torrance, near Los Angeles.

Washington interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. He was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated but it was too soon to say what his motivation was, Carroll said.

Based on preliminary information, he was believed to have been a guest at the hotel, Carroll added.

The chaotic events from around 8:35 p.m. (0035 GMT on Sunday) raised fresh questions about the security of top US officials, many of whom were gathered in the hotel's expansive ballroom.

A focus of the investigation is likely to be how the gunman was able to smuggle the shotgun into the hotel, which hosts the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, a marquee fixture of Washington’s social calendar.

The black-tie event was attended by many members of Trump’s cabinet and other senior administration officials amid heavy security. It was the first time Trump attended the event as president, having boycotted it in previous years.

Afterward, Trump addressed reporters, many still in evening attire, in an extraordinary late-night press conference in the White House briefing room, flanked by Vice President JD Vance and other cabinet members.