President Trump, first lady Melania and a slew of top lawmakers and White House officials had to be dramatically evacuated from the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday night after a crazed gunman rushed the security perimeter and opened fire outside the ballroom.
The shooting erupted just after 8:30 p.m., about 20 minutes after the president and first lady made their grand entrance into the Washington Hilton ballroom in Washington, DC., where Trump and countless VIPS were set to toast the Washington press corps.
The shooter — blasted by Trump as a “sick” individual — charged toward the ballroom armed with a shotgun and multiple knives before being swiftly taken down by Secret Service agents in the lobby, police said, sharing shocking photos of the shirtless madman pinned face down on the floor.
Law enforcement sources identified him as Cole Allen, 31, a teacher and Caltech grad from Torrance, California.
Follow The Post’s live updates on the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
“The man has been captured. They’re going to his apartment. I guess he lives in California, and he’s a sick person.” Trump told reporters.
He also talked about the sense of togetherness he felt among the crowd at the dinner.
“This was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press, and in a certain way it did, because the fact that they just unified,” Trump said at a White House press briefing.
“I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was, in one way, very beautiful, a very beautiful thing to see.”
Officials said the deranged gunman rushed a security checkpoint and was headed toward the president’s location before being stopped outside the ballroom.
Police believe he was a guest at the hotel.
“But at this point it does appear he is a lone actor, a lone gunman,” Interim DC police chief Jeffrey Carroll confirmed Saturday night. “There does not appear to be any sort of danger to the public.”
One Secret Service agent was shot in the chaos. Trump said the agent was hit “from a very close distance with a very powerful gun,” but survived thanks to his bulletproof vest and is in “great shape” at a local hospital.
Organizers of the star-studded “nerd prom” program originally said that they wanted continue as planned; but then announced that the event was canceled by 9:45 p.m.
It will be rescheduled within 30 days, Trump said, noting he “fought like hell” to keep the event going as he was ready to tear into the press.
He also praised law enforcement and Secret Service for doing a “fantastic job” and acting “very quickly.”
“I thought it was a tray going down, but it was a gun,” Trump recalled.
“It was very quick,” he added. “There wasn’t a lot of time to be thinking, because it was a matter of seconds before we were out the door.”
Harrowing footage from the annual glitzy gala, hosted by the White House Correspondents Association, showed at least five shots ringing out from the lobby, as more than 2,000 panicked guests — including journalists and Trump officials — scrambled under tables for cover.
The shooting unfolded just minutes after WHCA President Weijia Jiang finished giving a speech, in which she hailed Trump’s “meaningful” return to the event — after he had snubbed it for the past 15 years.
Trump, Melania, Vice President JD Vance, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt were among those at the dais who were rushed out of the ballroom by Secret Service agents before the rest of the president’s cabinet were evacuated.
CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, who was attending the event when the gunfire rang out, said he heard about six shots in a tight corridor just outside the ballroom moments after dinner service had begun.
“All of a sudden, I start hearing gunshots in the hall right near me,” he told CNN. “And the next thing I knew, a police officer threw me to the ground and was on top of me.”
Blitzer said he had just stepped out and was heading up the stairs toward the lobby when the shooting broke out.
“It looked to me that the gunman who was firing these rounds was inside the security dinner,” he said.
“He somehow managed to get inside the metal detectors.”
Authorities quickly moved to secure the scene, physically restraining people in the vicinity and rushing them into nearby rooms for cover as the Secret Service locked down the hotel.
White House Correspondents’ Dinner volunteer Helen Mabus said the suspected gunman appeared to assemble a “long” weapon in a lightly monitored area near the terrace-level entrance before opening fire and rushing toward the ballroom.
Mabus described a “makeshift room” near the entrance where bar carts were being stored and where “there was no security” at the time.
“He was in that room […] he grabbed it out of a bag or something,” she said, adding that the weapon “was long” and “didn’t look like a typical gun.”
“He put it together and […] ran towards the stairs to go down to the ballroom. It just seem like he was shooting all over the place,” she said, estimating she heard “at least 10 shots.”
Malbus said the gunfire triggered immediate panic, with people “screaming and running” while Secret Service and other armed personnel rushed toward the danger.
Erika Kirk — the widow of slain conservative icon Charlie Kirk — was visibly shaken and in tears as she was abruptly rushed out of the ballroom, an eyewitness told The Post.
The eyewitness also reported seeing a disoriented and “delirious” Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being carried out by members of his security details.
Officials said the shooting took place near the main magnetometer screening area at the hotel, where guests passed through security before entering the event.
Sources said there are no metal detectors until the ballroom, meaning guests can go straight up the escalator before hitting a security screening.
DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the gunman — who authorities have not identified — is charged with assault on a federal law enforcement officer and two counts of using a gun to commit violence.
“The defendant will be arraigned on Monday in federal district court,” Pirro said.
“Make no mistake, there will be many more charges based upon the information that we are learning.”
Authorities are continuing to investigate the incident alongside the Metropolitan Police Department, with teams “on the ground assessing the situation,” the Secret Service said.
Start your day with all you need to know
Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.
Thanks for signing up!
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who sat with The Post at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, bemoaned the tragic history of the Washington Hilton, where the marquee dinner is held each year.
“I was hoping the room hadn’t been breached,” Bessent told The Post. “There were a lot of high-value targets in the room. The President and vice president were both up on stage – POTUS, FLOTUS, VPOTUS …”
“This is where Reagan got shot.”
It is the first time Trump has attended the gala since 2011 — marking his first appearance as president.
Before the event, pro-Palestine protesters lined the street outside the Washington Hilton, waving flags and holding signs that read “Media lies, Gaza dies” and “no war for Israel,” and sporting caricature masks depicting War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
One protester stormed the red carpet as guests arrived — only to be swiftly hauled away into custody.
Trump pleaded with the country to have peaceful political discourse at a press briefing after the shooting.
“I asked that all Americans recommit with their hearts and resolve our differences peacefully,” he said.
“We have to resolve our differences. I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals and progressives.”
