Shots fired as gunman charges toward ballroom at White House correspondents’ dinner. Trump unharmed

By Seung Min Kim, WASHINGTON United States 

A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner attended by President Donald Trump on Saturday night, charging toward the ballroom in a chaotic encounter with Secret Service agents as guests dived under tables at the sound of shots being fired.

U.S. Secret Service agents surround President Donald Trump before he was taken from the stage after a shooting incident outside the ballroom during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington.

The president was uninjured and was rushed off the stage. 

The armed man, who officials said was a guest at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was being held, was taken into custody and was expected in court Monday. 

Police believe he opened fire and acted alone but did not say who was his intended target or describe a motive.

“When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” Trump, safe and uninjured and still in his tuxedo, said at the White House two hours later. “They seem to think he was a lone wolf.”

The shooting unfolded just outside the vast subterranean ballroom holding thousands of dinner guests, disrupting minutes after it began an annual event meant to honor journalism and the First Amendment that was being especially scrutinized this year because it was the first time since Trump became president that he had attended. 

Trump told reporters later that he hoped the event would be rescheduled within 30 days, though the fact that an armed man was able to rush toward the ballroom raised instant questions about security precautions at an event attended each year by senior government officials.

Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. 

One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was tackled to the ground and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.

The shooting suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.

He is facing two firearm-related charges, including a count of assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon