The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was turned upside down Saturday night after a gunman was taken into custody following a shooting near the Washington Hilton ballroom. President Trump, first lady Melania Trump and other administration officials were evacuated by the Secret Service after the shooting interrupted an annual fundraiser.
President Trump, the first lady and numerous Cabinet members were quickly evacuated from the event as the gunman was brought down by law enforcement. Law enforcement officials said the suspects were carrying rifles, handguns and knives and stormed a security checkpoint equipped with magnetometer screening equipment. He reportedly engaged in a gunfight with Secret Service agents.
On Trump’s first WHCA dinner as president, the commander-in-chief ended the dinner with an impromptu press conference at the White House as dinner attendees scrambled to put on evening wear and cover the unexpected turn of events.
President Trump has had a hostile relationship with mainstream media and news organizations. In a late-night briefing, he tried to strike a conciliatory tone, even praising the media for quickly covering the latest shootings for disrupting Americans’ normal lives. President Trump praised the quick work of law enforcement officials who ensured the guns were removed by “very brave members of the Secret Service.”
“In light of tonight’s events, I sincerely recommit to all Americans that we must urgently resolve our differences and ask that we resolve our differences peacefully,” Trump said.
CNN reported that a Secret Service agent wearing protective gear was shot and taken to the hospital. Law enforcement officials confirmed the man was in custody. He was reportedly a 31-year-old man from Torrance, California.
After about an hour of chaos inside the ballroom, WHCA President Weijia Zhang of CBS News took to the stage with tears in her eyes and instructed attendees to leave the ballroom. He also informed the association’s members that the president was scheduled to hold a press conference at the White House in the next 30 minutes. “I’m not kidding,” Jiang said with a deadpan expression.
Jiang added that President Trump “insists that he will reschedule this event within the next 30 days.” “He wanted to ignore the news and continue working, but he had to follow security regulations,” she said. Jiang pointed out that journalism is a profession designed to rise in times of crisis.
“Every night we think about these freedoms and the First Amendment, we also have to think about how fragile they are,” she says. “I saw you all reporting. That’s our job. So thank God, everyone’s safe. Thank you for coming together tonight. We’ll do this again.”
President Trump’s statement released on the Truth Social platform also expressed his determination to proceed with the event.
“Law enforcement has requested a respectful exit from the premises, which we will do immediately. We will be holding a press conference within 30 minutes from the White House Press Briefing Room. The First Lady, the Vice President, and all members of the Cabinet are in good physical condition. We will speak within 30 minutes. We have spoken with all those responsible for the event and will reschedule within 30 days. Donald J. President Trump,” the statement read.
After being removed from the ballroom that night, Trump released a message expressing his desire to return to the Hilton and finish the night as planned. In his statement, President Trump addressed the extraordinary violence, saying, “The D.C. Secret Service and law enforcement did a great job. They acted swiftly and bravely. The shooter was arrested and I encouraged him to ‘let the show go on.’ But we will have full law enforcement guidance. They will make a decision soon. Regardless of that decision, the night is going to be very different than planned and we will have to do it all over again, to be clear.” said.
CNN reporter Wolf Blitzer reported on air that he heard gunshots and was thrown to the ground by police for safety. Blitzer said he saw a man with a gun “fire indiscriminately” and saw him being tackled by police. He was escorted to the bathroom by police for safety. Blitzer said he heard at least half a dozen loud “thuds.” Blitzer told CNN he had just left the ballroom to go to the bathroom. As he was walking back to his table, he suddenly heard “a lot of gunshots and the sound of someone firing. The next thing I saw was a large group of police officers and other law enforcement grabbing (the gunman) and forcing him to the ground.”
Shortly after 9 p.m. ET, WHCA President Jiang Weijia told the audience that the program would continue despite the disruption caused by the incident and President Trump’s swift resignation. However, by 9:20pm ET, security was clearly seen clearing the banquet hall, indicating that the event had been officially canceled.
The situation prompted journalists from various media outlets to begin on-the-spot reporting using social media platforms to deliver urgent reports.
ABC News’ Rachel Scott called the situation “horrifying” and described the chaos in which attendees suddenly looked up and saw Secret Service agents swarming the president. And it all happened “while (WHCA) members here in the ballroom ducked for cover,” Scott reported on Instagram.
CSPAN reported that just as guests were finishing the salad course of their dinner, the event’s podium was suddenly removed, forcing many of the thousands of event attendees to crawl under the tables amid fears of a major security breach. Witnesses told CSPAN they heard screams coming from the back of the banquet hall before the Secret Service stormed the venue. CSPAN reported that at around 8:40 p.m. ET, someone could hear yells of “America, America” coming from the back of the ballroom.
The scene outside the Washington Hilton early in the evening was tense, with protesters shouting about U.S. actions in Iran as they entered the hotel. The streets of Washington DC surrounding the hotel were heavily guarded, and tickets were required to pass through several checkpoints located within the hotel and facilities. Longtime attendees of the WHCA dinner said they had never seen such tight security at the event.
After the shooting, there was initial confusion about what happened until journalists contacted news outlets to report details of what happened. News outlets such as CNN, CNBC and CSPAN were surprised and shaken by their reporters who were in attendance, telling them in phone interviews what happened in the ballroom.
The annual fundraising event was attended by most of journalism’s top players. Versant CEO Mark Lazarus, ABC News President Armin Karamedovic, “Good Morning America” Executive Producer Simone Swink and Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott were among the celebrities in attendance at Saturday’s pre-party.
Trump administration officials who attended the event included Vice President J.D. Vance, Deputy Secretary of State for Policy Stephen Miller, Presidential Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and Turning Point USA CEO Erica Kirk. The incident comes seven months after her political activist husband Charlie Kirk was shot while attending a university in Utah, and numerous reports said Kirk was visibly shaken.
The Trump administration’s performance at this event stands in contrast to its behavior the last time it was in the White House. The 2026 dinner will be the first time President Trump will attend an event that traditionally features comedians lambasting the president and the Washington establishment. This time, WHCA has booked The Mentalist’s Oz Perlman as a celebrity performer. Perlman was seen prominently making the rounds with top journalists on live coverage of the event before the chaos.
Trump has had a controversial relationship with mainstream journalists since his political ambitions began in 2015. Since returning to the White House, the Trump administration has aggressively challenged journalistic conventions, and the president has not slowed down his attacks on the integrity and competency of mainstream journalism. Trump has also filed lawsuits with ABC News, CBS News, the Wall Street Journal and others.
