Washington, D.C. — A gunman opened fire near the security checkpoint of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, sending roughly 2,600 journalists, lawmakers, and senior administration officials scrambling under tables as Secret Service agents rushed President Donald Trump from the ballroom at the Washington Hilton. The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of California, is alive and in custody. One Secret Service officer was shot but survived thanks to a protective vest.
No attendees were injured. The dinner has been canceled and will be rescheduled within 30 days.
WHAT HAPPENED INSIDE THE BALLROOM
The evening was proceeding normally. WHCA president Weijia Jiang of CBS News had just delivered her welcome speech and invited guests to sit for dinner. Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and Vice President JD Vance were already seated at the head table alongside the WHCA board. It was the first time Trump had attended the annual dinner as a sitting president, having boycotted the event throughout his entire first term.
Then the shots came. Multiple witnesses described hearing four to six loud pops that seemed to originate from just outside the ballroom. CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, who was only feet away from the shooter, told the network he witnessed a gunman fire what he described as a “very serious weapon” at least six times. Deadline’s Ted Johnson, seated near the ballroom entrance, reported hearing what sounded like four shots coming from the hall near his table.
Secret Service agents moved instantly. Armed guards leaped onto the stage. A voice shouted “Get down!” as guests dove under tables. Trump, Melania, and Vance were hauled out of the room within seconds. Cabinet secretaries including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Education Secretary Linda McMahon, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, HHS Secretary Robert Kennedy, and FBI Director Kash Patel were evacuated to rooms within the hotel. High-ranking members of Congress followed close behind.
THE SUSPECT: COLE TOMAS ALLEN, 31, FROM CALIFORNIA
The armed suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old from California, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter who spoke to CNN. Allen is alive and was transported to Howard University Hospital with injuries related to being subdued by law enforcement.
The Secret Service confirmed in a statement that it was investigating a “shooting incident near the main magnetometer screening area” at the dinner. According to witnesses and law enforcement officials, Allen appeared to have attempted to storm the security checkpoint. CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, who was near the screening area, said the gunman seemed to have gone through the metal detector but had a weapon and began firing.
Allen was tackled to the ground and handcuffed by law enforcement, according to Jeffrey Carroll, interim chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department. Trump himself posted footage to Truth Social of the Secret Service response, along with photos of the male suspect in custody on the ground. Trump had multiple weapons on his person outside the ballroom, the president said during a press briefing. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed that a “long gun” and shell casings were found at the scene.
Early reports from some outlets and from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, citing a Secret Service agent on scene, had indicated the shooter was dead. Those reports were later corrected. The suspect is alive and in custody.
ONE OFFICER SHOT, SAVED BY VEST
Speaking from the White House shortly after the incident, Trump confirmed that one Secret Service officer was shot during the confrontation but was protected by a bulletproof vest. “The vest did the job,” Trump said. No other injuries were reported among the roughly 2,600 guests, staff, or security personnel at the event.
Trump described the suspect as a “lone wolf” and called him “a sick person” who had “charged from 50 yards away.” He praised the Secret Service response, saying agents had their guns drawn and were firing by the time the suspect reached them. “The reaction time was great, boy,” Trump told reporters.
THE SECURITY QUESTIONS
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is one of the most locked-down events on the Washington social calendar. Guests pass through multiple layers of Secret Service screening. The Washington Hilton has hosted the dinner for decades and its security protocols are well established. How an armed individual carrying a long gun and multiple weapons was able to reach the magnetometer screening area will be the subject of intense investigation.
This is the third time in recent years that Trump has faced gunfire. In July 2024, a 20-year-old gunman opened fire at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, grazing Trump’s ear and killing attendee Corey Comperatore. A second assassination attempt was foiled at Trump’s Florida golf course months later. Asked about the pattern of violence, Trump struck a fatalistic tone. “I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life,” he said. “I want to live because I want to make this country great.”
The room at the Washington Hilton had contained an extraordinary concentration of American power. Beyond the president and vice president, the Secretary of State, Secretary of Defense, and numerous other cabinet members were in attendance. Nearly every major news network was represented, with reporters becoming both witnesses and correspondents in real time.
DINNER CANCELED, WILL BE RESCHEDULED
Trump initially posted on Truth Social that he wanted the event to continue, writing that he had “recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON'” but would be guided by law enforcement. Authorities ultimately requested that Trump leave the premises, and the dinner was officially canceled.
WHCA president Weijia Jiang addressed the situation directly. “I said earlier tonight that journalism is a public service, because when there is an emergency, we run to the crisis, not away from it,” she said. “On a night when we are thinking about the freedoms in the First Amendment, we must also think about how fragile they are. Thank God everybody is safe. We will do this again.”
The dinner will be rescheduled within 30 days, both Trump and Jiang confirmed. Instead of the usual evening of roasts, toasts, and political theater, the nation watched Secret Service agents with drawn weapons clear a ballroom while the most powerful people in America dove under their tables. What was supposed to be Trump’s first WHCD appearance as president became instead the latest chapter in an increasingly alarming pattern of political violence.
This is a developing story. Updates will follow as more information becomes available.