WHEN Donald Trump’s Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters “shots will be fired” it was meant to tee up a gag-filled speech by the President aimed at his legion of critics.
For a century, the has seen the media gather to lather up in self-righteous praise while being gently roasted by the latest occupant of the Oval Office.
Harry Cole reporting from the ballroom after the shooting incident at the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner Credit: X
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Melania Trump, Donald Trump, and Weijia Jiang attend The White House Correspondents Dinner Credit: Getty
But in his endless war with what he calls the Fake News, President Trump had previously shunned the annual jamboree – until Saturday night.
Tensions and spirits were high and was top-drawer.
After years of boycott, the President’s attendance gave the green light for his Cabinet, supporters, and aides all to turn out in their fineries for a lavish knees-up.
Scores of pre-parties and receptions had the crowd well oiled as they .
Armed with zingers and gags, the President was ready to settle a few scores over headache wine and lumpy hotel food.
Instead Leavitt’s words were prophetic: As I spooned a mouthful of limp salad, ripped into the cavernous ballroom of the Hilton DC.
Some two and a half thousand hacks and flacks were just settling in to their dinner when the tables were upturned – in some cases literally – with dinner jacket and sparkly dress-clad journos and politicians hitting the deck.
New to town my table was on the very fringes of the gathering, right by the main entrance to the basement arena and lumped in with other foreign hacks.
You could tell who was American and who was not as the Yanks were well versed in duck and cover protocols, raised in a country where the whiff of cordite and dodging the ricochet of bullets are bizarrely part of daily life and school lessons.
But amongst the chatter and chinks of glasses most people had no idea what was going on just yards from where they sat.
It comes as…
- UK politicians are to be examined in light of the shooting
- The suspected shooter
- Trump posted charging
- how Melania bravely alerted Trump
Yet from my perch in the cheap seats, I had no doubt as five shots rang out just minutes after the President had arrived and the crowd had stood for their national anthem.
“Get down” I yelled to my bemused colleagues, peeking my head – and camera phone – up from under the table as the room descended into chaos.
It was thirty seconds after the shots rang out that most of the guests realised something was up.
With the Secret Service swooping the stage to haul off the President and his deputy , quickly the screams went up as the rest of the room caught up on what was going down.
A strangely still and quiet ten minutes followed – with the silence only pierced by an abortive attempt by one Trump staffer to get a chant of “USA, USA” going – only to be swiftly told the “shut the f— up” by fellow partygoers quivering under the white table cloths.
Armed cops and bodyguards, pistols drawn, swept the room for what felt like an age as confused guests debated in whispers whether the noise had actually been slamming doors or broken plates.
Suspect Cole Tomas Allen, 31-year-old from California, in custody after attempting to enter the ballroom with guns and knives Credit: Alamy
The suspect seen running past Secret Service agents during the shooting Credit: Official/UPI/Shutterstock
What happened to the we were meant to be served will remain a mystery as proceedings were soon drawn to a close.
But I was never in doubt at what I had heard.
As the news filtering out from the hotel lobby soon confirmed: we had been just round the corner from an active crazed shooter.
In the room the law enforcement operation was exemplary… but questions linger about how yet again .
While we had been through airport style metal detectors and thoroughly frisked on the way into the ballroom, the security around the wider hotel had been a joke.
With plenty of the pre-parties held in other parts of the building, any old punter and guest had been able to rock up and mingle with the very elite of the American government.
The fact that a gunman was able to get his weapons so close to the action will surely be subject to inquiries and hearings.
This building is no stranger to Presidential assassination attempts, with a plaque outside marking Ronald Reagan surviving a shooting in 1981 and guests were already discussing the lack of security on the way in before a single shot had been fired.
Hotel residents with nothing to do with the event were able to rub shoulders with high profile targets, as the gunman proved by simply checking in and opening fire.
While the Hilton DC is now two nil up in surviving Presidential murder attempts, something is going to have to give if a similar event is ever held there again.
The shooter was later identified as of Torrance, , two enforcement officials said.
Trump attends as Mentalist Oz Pearlman hosts The White House Correspondents Dinner Credit: Getty
The moment when shots were heard at the event Credit: Splash
Grainy black and white CCTV footage shows staff standing outside the dining room where the prestigious event was taking place.
officials later said the suspect opened fire at a Secret Service agent.
Speaking at a press briefing at shortly after the shooting, Trump said he was armed with multiple weapons.
Footage posted by the President showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him.
The US leader also told how the “would-be assassin” was wearing a vest.
He branded him a “sick person” who charged a security checkpoint and injured a law enforcement officer.
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro confirmed that Allen is facing firearms and assault charges.
He was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, said.
Trump takes questions from media at a press briefing at the White House Credit: Reuters
Eze Chidiebere Paul
I'm dedicated to creating high-quality content that informs, inspires, and delights. If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitate to get in touch. Happy reading!
