Suspected shooter apprehended after Donald Trump evacuated from White House correspondents’ dinner – live | Donald Trump

Marcin Wrona, US correspondent for TVN Poland, was sitting close to the incident. He told the Guardian’s David Smith: “We were waiting for our dinner and suddenly I heard bang, bang, bang, bang and for a moment we had no idea what was going on but then we immediately heard someone scream, ‘Shots fired!’ and everybody went you know under under the table.

“I stayed on my chair, looking around to see if there is any imminent danger, if I can spot anything. I couldn’t. And some people were really frightened. You could clearly see that.

“Then the evacuation of the president, the first lady, et cetera, et cetera. But also the members of the cabinet, Steve Scalise, were being escorted outside right next to us. So, in fact, they were passing very close to where the shots were fired, but they were using a different door.”

Wrona added: “It is a bit surprising because this is supposed to be the most secure place in Washington DC with cabinet members, president, vice president, everybody here. So this is the most secure place. Yes, there are tensions. Yes, we had attempts on President Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania, in Florida. Am I very surprised? Unfortunately not.”

Many guests and journalists in the room are recounting their experience in the room.

Kerry Kennedy, RFK’s sister who was a guest of the Boston Globe at the gala, recalled on X: “A loud bang of gun shots, then “Get down, get down, get down!” I hit the floor at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner mid conversation with Jamie Raskin, who heroically protected me, whispering, “You’re ok, you’re ok, you’re ok,” while my host from the Boston Globe laid on the ground while furiously taking notes, and thousands of journalists, photographers, and editors took cover under tables and beneath chairs. Then the doors burst open, and scores of Secret Service agents rushed into the room, many with hands on holsters. They rushed for cabinet secretaries and pulled them to safety. Then security started yelling, “Go, go, go,” demanding that we leave. It was terrifying. But I am still grateful to the brave Secret Service, to my friends at the Boston Globe, and most especially to Jamie Raskin.”

The WHCA gala is held each year at the Washington Hilton.

It is the same hotel where president Ronald Reagan was shot and gravely wounded by a would-be assassin in 1981.

WHCA had hoped to resume the dinner, but now many of the journalists from the dinner are trying to make it to the White House in time to attend the president’s press briefing. Many of the roads around the hotel are closed or blocked.

The White House Correspondents’ Dinner is a black-tie event hosted by the association of journalists who cover the US president, held annually in the cavernous ballroom of the Washington Hilton.

Known as “nerd prom” the evening has traditionally been attended by the president, political leaders, comedians and celebrities, who come together in celebration of press freedom. However, Trump had made it a practice not to attend during his first term. This year was the first time he had ever attended the event, and was set to make a speech. The featured entertainer this year was mentalist and magician Oz Pearlman.

George Chidi

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said he was within a few feet of the shooter, and called into CNN to describe his observations.

Blitzer said he saw “a very, very serious weapon. He starts shooting, and I happened to have been a few feet away from him. As he was shooting, of course, the first thing that went through my mind: is he trying to shoot me? And I don’t think he was trying to shoot me, but I was very close to him as the gunshots were fired and he was very, very scary. But I’m OK, now.”

In longer comments to CNN, Blitzer said he did not see the actual shooting, but was in a nearby hallway when gunfire erupted.

Blitzer had been returning from the men’s room when the shooting began, he said.

Donald Trump said he and the first lady will leave the Washington Hilton, where the White House correspondents’ dinner was held on Saturday night, at the request of law enforcement. The president said he would give a press briefing at the White House in 30 minutes.

“The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition. We will be speaking to you in a half an hour. I have spoken with all the representatives in charge of the event, and we will be rescheduling within 30 days,” he wrote on Truth Social.

In a statement, secret service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, said the agency was investigating a “shooting incident near the main magnetometer screening area at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner”.

“The president and the first lady are safe,” he said, along with everyone who was at the dinner and in the protection of Secret Service. “One individual is in custody. The condition of those involved is not yet known, and law enforcement is actively assessing the situation.”

“The president will be having a press briefing at the White House in 30 minutes – that is not a joke,” Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, just told the room full of reporters.

“And he insists that we will reschedule this event in 30 days and that he wanted to continue, despite the news, but has to follow security protocol.”

The Guardian’s Rachel Leingang was seated at the table alongside colleagues and guests when someone yelled that shots had been fired. Guests began diving under the tables. She recalls Secret Service agents running in and moving chairs of the way as they raced down the aisles.

“Everyone kind of stayed under the tables for a little while, until people started like popping back up and then everyone tried to figure out what was going on – they were talking to each other like, ‘What happened? What happened?’”

Then security agents came inside of the ballroom and said everyone needed to leave. Rachel said she left the room.

Now Rachel is outside, where the sounds of sirens and helicopters are buzzing all around. She is safe, and said the exits have been blocked.

David Smith, the Guardian’s Washington bureau chief, spoke briefly to Frank Luntz, a prominent political consultant and pollster.

“I watched the security people use the ultimate in athleticism to get over tables, get over chairs, to get to the people that they were guarding,” Luntz said.

“The Secret Service was impressive, the congressional security was impressive. All the military and all the people responsible for keeping Americans safe, they were all in play in the last few minutes, and it’s both impressive and frightening that this should happen at the White House correspondents’ dinner. I’ve never seen this before. More security people are in this room than in any other place in America. And they all leaped into action. They all understood what they were facing. And it makes me proud to be an American.”

Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the “shooter has been apprehended” and that he has recommended that we “LET THE SHOW GO ON” but said the decision will ultimately be made by law enforcement.

“They will make a decision shortly,” Trump said. “Regardless of that decision, the evening will be much different than planned, and we’ll just, plain, have to do it again.”

David Smith

The Guardian’s David Smith, who was one of four Guardian journalists in the room at the Washington Hilton when the president was evacuated, stopped Representative Jamie Raskin for his reaction.

Raskin, a Democratic congressman from Maryland, said: “I didn’t see anything in terms of the shooter except I just entered the room about five minutes ago and I was talking to people from the Boston Globe and my old friend Kerry Kennedy and then I think a secret service agent threw me to the ground and on top of some other people and people were screaming and yelling.

“Apparently there was a shooter in the lobby and, at least the rumor is, that the shooter has been killed and is dead in the lobby and that’s really all I know. I was just trying to get over to the NBC table – these people had invited me and I never even made it to the table so I felt bad.”

Raskin added: “I heard some loud noises but I don’t know if that was people reacting or if that was something outside, it was hard to know, but people very quickly were saying that was a shot, that was the gunshot.

“People were terrified; people seem to be relieved now.”

Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, has said the dinner will resume.

“Our program is going to resume momentarily,” she said.

The presidential seal is on the podium onstage at the Washington Hilton, a sign that Trump may return to speak.

The White House correspondents’ dinner was interrupted by loud bangs on Saturday evening, followed by immediate commotion. Donald and Melania Trump were evacuated immediately as many journalists and their guests across the room ducked under tables in the Washington Hilton ballroom.

There were reports that the US Secret Service had guns drawn as they rushed the White House pool reporters out of the room and mentioned “shots fired”.

The atmosphere in the room was tense as journalists waited to hear what happened and what to do next.

This is a breaking news story and we will bring you developments as they unfold.