Gunfire interrupts White House correspondents’ dinner event

A shooting at a White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., on April 25 (local time) prompted the evacuation of senior U.S. officials. U.S. President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and Vice President JD Vance were among those evacuated after gunfire erupted at the event. All were reported safe. Authorities identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, who was taken into custody at the scene. His motive remains unclear.

Speaking at the White House after the incident, President Trump described Allen as a “lone wolf.” He said the suspect rushed toward the venue carrying multiple weapons, including a shotgun, a handgun and several knives, before being overpowered by Secret Service agents, whom he praised as “brave.” Trump also dismissed suggestions that the attack could be linked to tensions involving Iran, saying he did not see any connection.

The shooting occurred about 30 minutes after the president’s arrival. Allen allegedly breached a security checkpoint and ran toward the entrance in an attempt to enter the venue, before being tackled by Secret Service personnel.

During the confrontation, he fired several shots, striking one agent assigned to the event. Trump said the injured agent was “wearing a bulletproof vest and is fine,” calling him “a great person.”

According to CNN and other outlets, Allen is from Torrance, California, and is a graduate of the California Institute of Technology. He also previously worked at a private tutoring company. Trump described him as “a mentally disturbed person.”

Trump, who has had a long-standing strained relationship with mainstream media, had never attended the WHCA dinner during his political career until this year. His first appearance at the annual event, which dates back to 1921, was overshadowed by the shooting. He said the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days and promised it would return “bigger, better and more impressive.”

The incident drew immediate comparisons to March 1981, when then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan was shot at the same hotel by John Hinckley Jr. and seriously wounded. Forty-five years later, the venue once again became the site of a security scare involving a sitting U.S. president.

U.S. President Donald Trump himself survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024, when he was struck in the upper right ear. Despite the injury, he raised his fist and shouted “fight” in front of an American flag, a moment that later became a defining image for his supporters. Analysts say the latest incident could further energize Trump’s political base ahead of the November midterm elections.


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