Donald Trump evacuated, armed suspect arrested… What we know about the shots fired during the White House correspondents dinner

Hundreds of guests were evacuated during the White House correspondents’ dinner at a large hotel in the American capital of Washington late Saturday night to Sunday. An armed suspect was apprehended without causing injuries.

Published on 26/04/2026 at 10:27, updated at 18:20 Reading time: 4min

The celebration was supposed to be grand but was cut short. On Saturday, April 25th, U.S. President Donald Trump was evacuated from the traditional dinner of White House correspondents at the Hilton Hotel in Washington when shots were heard and a suspect was arrested. Security teams, armed, took positions where Donald Trump was sitting alongside his wife Melania, Vice President J.D. Vance, and other officials who were swiftly evacuated.

Hundreds of guests in evening attire present in the ballroom took cover under tables before heading to the hotel lobby. The event was later postponed, and the guests exited safely. Authorities announced that no personalities or gala attendees were injured.

A dinner interrupted around 8:30 pm by the intrusion of an armed man into the hotel. According to officials, a “lone shooter” forced a security checkpoint in the hotel lobby, just outside the ballroom where the dinner was taking place, around 8:36 pm local time. Donald Trump posted images on his Truth Social platform showing the suspect rushing towards the checkpoint before being overwhelmed by police. “He was armed with a hunting rifle, a pistol, and several knives,” interim Metropolitan Police Department chief Jeffery Carroll told reporters.

Law enforcement exchanged fire with the suspect and “intercepted this individual.” A Secret Service officer in uniform was “hit in the bulletproof vest” and taken to the hospital but was fine, Jeffery Carroll said. The suspect was unharmed by the gunfire but was taken to the hospital for examination. He is currently in custody and is set to appear before a federal judge on Monday in a federal court. A rifle and shells were found at the scene, FBI director Kash Patel stated, adding that the FBI was conducting witness interviews as part of their investigation.

The suspect is described as a “lone wolf” by Donald Trump. Photos of the alleged shooter, shirtless and handcuffed, facing the ground, were shared by Donald Trump. Authorities have not yet publicly confirmed his identity, but according to American media outlets such as the New York Times and CNN, he is a 31-year-old man named Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, California. Authorities believe he was a guest at the hotel, Jeffery Carroll told journalists. The apprehended man currently faces two charges: “use of a firearm in a violent crime” and “assault of a federal officer with a dangerous weapon,” said federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro.

Additional charges could be brought forth as the investigation progresses. “My impression is that he was a lone wolf,” Donald Trump said at a White House press conference, about two hours after the incident, adding that the motive of the suspect had not yet been established but he believed the shooter was “sick.” He also stated that this was an “aspiring assassin”, and expressed his concerns about the safety of public figures.

“Safety of the event in question.”

The security setup of the reception and how a weapon entered the hotel are currently under scrutiny. Participants explained that a metal detection gate was set up outside the ballroom, but there was no such control at the main entrance. Donald Trump initially stated that it was not a “particularly secure building.” France Televisions correspondent Diane Schlienger described the tense atmosphere inside the room at the time of the incident.

The security services did “a much better job than Butler,” Donald Trump stated, referring to an attempted assassination in 2024 during a campaign meeting in Pennsylvania. According to Donald Trump, security forces did a “much better job than Butler,” where he was the target of an assassination attempt. efforts to strengthen the need for the construction of the ultra-secret White House ballroom, a project he initiated several months ago. “This event would never have happened with the ultra-secret ballroom currently under construction at the White House,” he stated. “We can’t build it fast enough!”

The suspect apprehended wrote a “very anti-Christian manifesto,” the U.S. President also said in a phone interview with Fox News. “When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians,” he said, describing him as “obviously very high-ranking.”

Security personnel actively working at the reception point that the suspect tried to force was “just outside the ballroom,” authorities argued. “Because (agents at) this checkpoint did their job, no one was injured,” Jeanine Pirro emphasized. Jeffery Carroll added, “We will analyze videos throughout the hotel to understand how the weapon entered and how it got here.”