Trump evacuated as shooter opens fire at Washington gala

WASHINGTON, April 27 ------ US Secret Service agents bundled Donald Trump from the stage as shots rang out at a media gala, in what the president later described as an attack by a "would-be assassin."

Armed guards opened fire at the gunman who charged through a security checkpoint just outside the ballroom of the hotel where Trump, first lady Melania Trump, senior government officials and hundreds of other black-tie guests had gathered. People dived under tables in chaotic scenes as Secret Service teams swarmed into the glitzy White House Correspondents' Association dinner held annually at the Washington Hilton in the US capital.

"A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of the Secret Service," Trump told a press conference at the White House shortly after the incident. "They seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I feel that too," he said, after posting video of the gunman sprinting past security as guards drew their weapons. The man was detained at the scene.

Repeated security lapses

Trump said one officer was shot at close range but appeared not to be critically injured. He added that the venue was "not a particularly secure" facility as questions swirled about the president's safety. Trump said at the hastily arranged news conference that he first thought the noise was a tray being dropped before he realized it was gunfire. He said he planned to reschedule the media gala within a month despite the security scare.

City officials said the suspect, who will be arraigned in court on Monday on firearm and assault charges, appeared to have been a guest at the hotel. He was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and knives. "Law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the individual," Washington police chief Jeffrey Carroll told reporters. "A US Secret Service uniformed division officer was struck in his vest. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He appears to be in good spirits."

Glitzy annual gala

Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024. A gunman fired several shots, killing an audience member and lightly wounding the president in the ear. A few months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking from the bushes on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing a round.

Organizers at first told guests that Saturday's dinner would continue, before announcing it had been postponed. The White House Correspondents' Association invited Trump this year despite his repeated attacks on the media. Unlike all other presidents from the past 100 years, Trump had never attended while in office.

Source: manilatimes.net