Gunpowder in the air: A fancy press dinner with Trump, then shots fired
Gunpowder in the air: A fancy press dinner with Trump, then shots fired
Michael Collins, USA TODAY Sun, April 26, 2026 at 5:40 AM UTC
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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump had taken his seat on the dais just a few minutes earlier and was talking with other VIPs when a series of loud bangs rippled through the jam-packed Washington Hilton ballroom.
Chaos erupted at one of Washington’s premier social events, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Guests in tuxedos and evening gowns ducked for cover under tables. Secret Service agents rushed the dais and quickly evacuated Trump and first lady Melania Trump from the room. Banquet chairs toppled and maroon napkins scattered across the floor. The strong smell of gunpowder hung in the air. Some people prayed.
Trump, making his first appearance at the dinner in more than a decade and his first ever as president, was whisked back to the White House. Later, still dressed in black tie and tux, he told reporters at a news conference that he had first thought the loud bangs had been caused by a waiter dropping a serving tray.
“It was either a tray or a bullet,” he said. “I was hoping it was a tray. But it wasn’t.”
1 / 0Trump officials evacuate White House press dinner amid reported shooting
Security officials evacuate U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as a possible shooter opened fire during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 25, 2026. President Donald Trump, who was in attendance, said a shooter was apprehended in a social media post.Trump and first lady Melania Trump were evacuated out of the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner minutes after it began, as attendees took cover on the floor.
Law-enforcement officials said a man with multiple weapons had charged a security checkpoint in a lobby outside the hotel ballroom on Saturday, April 25. He was taken down and apprehended by Secret Service agents. FBI Director Kash Patel told reporters that a long gun and shell casings were found at the scene.
Rescheduled within 30 days
The White House Correspondents’ Association, which sponsors the black-tie gala, canceled the dinner but said it would be rescheduled within 30 days.
The glitzy event, held annually, brings together some of the most powerful people in Washington, and the journalists who cover them. The dinner has often been a magnet for Hollywood celebrities, and dozens of parties are held across Washington in the days leading up to the event.
More than 3,000 people had packed the giant ballroom for this year’s dinner in the basement of the Washington Hilton, about a mile north of the White House.
The Hilton is the same hotel where President Ronald Reagan was shot during an assassination attempt by John Hinkley in 1981. Then-White House Press Secretary James Brady and several law enforcement officials were wounded.
More: See moment Trump is evacuated from White House Correspondents’ dinner
Authorities identified the shooting suspect at the correspondents' dinner as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, according to multiple reports. Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said he was taken to a local hospital and is under evaluation. He is believed to have been the lone gunman, she said.
Trump said one officer was shot but was saved by his bulletproof vest.
"I just spoke to the officer and he's in great shape," Trump said. He described the officer as being in “high spirits.”
More: White House Correspondents' Dinner protesters decry media, Trump, Iran War
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told reporters the suspect in custody is being charged with two counts, including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. He will be arraigned on Monday, April 27, she said.
“It is clear, based upon what we know so far, that this individual was intent on doing as much harm and as much damage as they could,” she said.
More: What we know about security after the White House press dinner shooting
Inside the ballroom, USA TODAY reporters said they heard what sounded like gunshots and chants of “USA.”
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Kerry Kennedy, the daughter of slain Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, said she hit the floor after hearing a loud bang of gunshots and shouts to “get down, get down, get down!”
One of her tablemates, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, “heroically protected me, whispering, ‘You’re OK, you’re OK, you’re OK',” Kennedy said on social media.
Armed security officers rushed into the room, searching for Cabinet secretaries to pull them to safety, she recounted.
Air Force veteran Erin Thielman, a guest at the dinner, said she saw the suspected shooter running and busting through the security checkpoint at the hotel. She had walked out of the dinner to call her teenage son, who was babysitting his younger siblings.
“As soon as he picked up, I heard three loud gunshots and then quickly saw the man flat on his face,” Thielman told USA TODAY. “He was carrying a rifle and appeared to be wearing a rope of magazines like a crossbody bag.”
Thielman said she ran back into the dinner and remembered yelling “gun, shooter, gun, shooter” and alerting security to close the ballroom doors.
More: Actor Zachary Levi describes hearing shots at White House press dinner
Trump has been the target of multiple assassination attempts.
He was wounded during a campaign rally on July 13, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania when a 20-year-old sniper armed with an AR-15-style rifle opened fire from the roof of a nearby building. One of the bullets grazed Trump’s right ear, and a 50-year-old former firefighter who was in the crowd was killed by the gunfire. Two other people in the crowd were wounded.
The gunman, Thomas Crooks, was shot and killed by Secret Service snipers.
Two months later, on Sept. 15, 2024, a second potential assassin targeted Trump while he was golfing at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Secret Service agents spotted a rifle poking through the fenced perimeter of the course. Agents fired at the suspect, identified as Ryan Wesley Routh, and chased after him.
Routh, 59, was later found guilty of attempted assassination in federal court and sentenced to life in prison.
More: Journalists urge protest of Trump at correspondents' dinner
Asked why he thinks people keep targeting him, Trump said during the White House news conference would-be assassins target “the most impactful people.”
“I hate to say I’m honored by that,” he said, “but I’ve done a lot. We’re going to do great things, but with that comes risk.”
Being president is a risker job than race-car driving or bull riding, he said.
“I can’t imagine that there’s any profession that’s more dangerous,” he said.
Michael Collins writes about the intersection of politics and culture. A veteran reporter, he has covered the White House and Congress. Follow him on X: @mcollinsNEWS.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gunfire brings chaos to White House Correspondents' Dinner
Source: “AOL Breaking”
