President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were both rushed off stage from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after gunshots were heard inside the Washington Hilton.
The President was attending the event for the first time since 2011 and was set to be honored and give a speech.
There did not immediately appear to be any injuries, with CNN reporting that President Trump is ‘safe.’
Anchor Wolf Blitzer later reported that the police said they had a gunman in custody and that he had a ‘major weapon.’
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the banquet hall as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. ‘Out of the way, sir!’ someone yelled. Others yelled to duck.
Trump alongside WHCA President Weijia Jiang, did not appear to notice the gunshots before they were evacuated, as the President was speaking to the host, mentalist Oz Pearlman.
Shouts of ‘God bless America’ were heard throughout the ballroom as the entire dais was led out of the room, with many of the other guests still inside.
Protesters had been spotted both outside and inside the Washington Hilton related to the Iran War and Israel‘s war on Hamas ahead of the dinner.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were both rushed off stage from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner after gunshots were heard inside the Washington Hilton
Jiang announced about a half hour later that the program was set to resume in ‘not much longer.’
Trump arrived Saturday night to an event where the leaders of a nation at war mingled with celebrities, journalists and even a puppet — Triumph the Insult Comic Dog — in a dinner that typically generates debate about whether the relationship between journalists and their sources should include socializing together and putting aside sometimes adversarial relationships.
This is a developing story.
