SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
An alleged gunman charged at a security entry to the annual White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner at the Washington Hilton on Sunday AEST.
US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed from the venue by Secret Service officers, along with Vice President JD Vance, FBI director Kash Patel and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Associated Press has reported that the alleged gunman is Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California. He was taken down and apprehended by law enforcement after firing multiple shots.
- No one was killed. One Secret Service agent was shot in the vest and was in “great spirits”, according to Trump.
- The FBI and security officials continue to investigate the incident and how the man was able to get weapons so close to the event.
- Trump held a press conference from the White House on Sunday AEST, praising security officials and releasing CCTV footage of the incident.
Interim DC Police Chief Jeffery W. Carroll has revealed that investigators believe the alleged shooter was a guest at the hotel.
Carroll said the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was armed with a shotgun, handgun and multiple knives. He said investigators had no reason to believe at this time that anyone else was involved.
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the suspect is being charged preliminarily with two charges related to using a firearm and assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon, but that there will be many more charges filed “based on the information that we are learning in this very fluid situation.”
Pirro said the suspect would be arraigned on Tuesday AEST in federal district court.
Trump has expanded on his experience tonight, revealing that the first lady reacted quicker than he did to the sound of distant gunfire.
“It’s always shocking when something like this happens, and it has happened to me a little bit,” Trump said.
“That never changes. I heard a noise and I thought it was a tray going down. I’ve heard that many times and it was from quite far away. They had already got him.
“But it was a gun [firing]. Some people understood that very quickly, some didn’t. I was watching to see what was happening, I should have gone down faster. Melania was very cognisant; she knew what had happened. She knew that was a bad noise.
An alleged gunman charged at a security entry to the annual White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner at the Washington Hilton on Sunday AEST.
US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed from the venue by Secret Service officers, along with Vice President JD Vance, FBI director Kash Patel and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Associated Press has reported that the alleged gunman is Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California. He was taken down and apprehended by law enforcement after firing multiple shots.
- No one was killed. One Secret Service agent was shot in the vest and was in “great spirits”, according to Trump.
- The FBI and security officials continue to investigate the incident and how the man was able to get weapons so close to the event.
- Trump held a press conference from the White House on Sunday AEST, praising security officials and releasing CCTV footage of the incident.
US President Donald Trump thinks he was the target of the alleged gunman.
“I guess. These people are crazy,” Trump said when asked if he was the target of the alleged shooter.
“You never know. He was very far away from me. He has to get through a lot. We had a lot of resources and, literally, had people sitting at tables in disguise.
“That was the first line of defence and they got him. We had no notification or no idea [of any threats].”
One of the key takeaways from that news conference was President Trump’s insistence that he will not change the way he goes about his job, despite another act of violence that was seemingly politically motivated.
Trump stressed how much he wanted to go back into the ballroom and resume the event, but law enforcement recommended otherwise. And he was adamant the White House Correspondents’ Dinner would be rescheduled, and be “bigger and better”.
“We’re not going to let anybody take over our society. We’re not going to cancel things out,” Trump said. “I don’t like to let these sick people, these horrible thugs, change the fabric of our lives, change what we do.”
Trump said that if he were to limit his engagements or alter the way he lives out of fear, he would end up not doing anything.
G’day everyone. It’s Roy Ward here and I will be taking over from the wonderful Jessica McSweeney after she worked extra hours this afternoon to continue our live coverage.
I’ll be on deck for the rest of the day as we continue bringing you developments from Washington and beyond.
The alleged gunman was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives when he charged a security checkpoint outside the Hilton ballroom, interim police chief Jeff Carroll said.
The suspect was not shot during the exchange of gunfire, but was still taken to hospital for assessment. He likely acted alone, Carroll said.
There did not appear to be an ongoing threat to the public, he said.
Trump ended his remarks with a claim that he tried to stay at the dinner.
“I fought like hell to stay, but they [Secret Service] said, ‘please, sir’ as there was a lot of action going on and they didn’t know if he was a lone shooter – we will find out very quickly. They have it very well under control.”
He also praised first lady Melania Trump for her poise during a “traumatic time”.
“That was a very traumatic experience for her but, again, the response time [from security] was incredible,” Trump said.
The president shared incredible footage on his Truth Social platform of the moment the alleged shooter was spotted by law enforcement at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The footage shows the suspect rushing past agents, who quickly pull out their weapons to confront the alleged shooter.
The Associated Press has identified the gunman as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, according to two law enforcement sources.
Trump has recounted the experience of being rushed from the stage tonight, praising law enforcement agents and the Secret Service in particular.
“There a record-setting group of people [at this dinner] and I was very impressed by that,” Trump said.
“But the first lady and I were taken very quickly and rushed off the stage. Vice President JD Vance was here and likewise, it was beautifully done, and he was just saying how quickly Secret Service acted. Marco [Rubio] had the same thing.
“Pete Hegseth said he didn’t want anybody to help him but he did get [removed], didn’t you? He was also impressed.”
