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President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are both safe following a shooting at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n
The president, the first lady, pregnant White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and other officials were rushed out of the ballroom at the Washington Hilton hotel when gunfire erupted on Saturday night.<\/p>\n
A Secret Service agent was shot during the exchange and transported to a local hospital for treatment.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement officials confirmed that a 31-year-old California resident was taken into custody after rushing a security checkpoint.<\/p>\n
During a White House press conference, Trump said he owed a \u201cdebt of gratitude\u201d to law enforcement and the Secret Service for their rapid response.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was very unexpected but incredibly acted upon by the Secret Service and law enforcement,\u201d Trump told reporters. \u201cThis was an event dedicated to freedom of speech, and in a certain way it did unify us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Washington Hilton is the same venue where President Ronald Reagan and three others were shot in 1981 by John Hinckley Jr.<\/p>\n
What Happened at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner?<\/p>\n
The Secret Service confirmed that gunfire was exchanged between the suspect and agents near the main security checkpoint at the hotel.<\/p>\n
Trump, Melania, and senior officials \u2014 including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance \u2014 were evacuated immediately.<\/p>\n
Video released by the White House reportedly showed the suspect rushing past agents before being subdued and arrested.<\/p>\n
\u201cA man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
Who Is the Suspect?<\/p>\n
Officials confirmed that a 31-year-old California man was arrested after the incident.<\/p>\n
His motive and medical condition have not yet been released.<\/p>\n
He has been charged with two firearm-related offenses and one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.<\/p>\n
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said more charges could follow as the investigation continues.<\/p>\n
Trump later referred to the suspect as \u201ca very sick person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Was Anyone Injured?<\/p>\n
Trump confirmed that one Secret Service agent was struck during the confrontation.<\/p>\n
According to officials, the bullet hit the agent\u2019s protective vest, preventing more serious injury.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was saved by the fact that he was wearing a very good bulletproof vest,\u201d Trump said. \u201cThe vest did the job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump added that he had spoken with the agent, who was in good spirits.<\/p>\n
Did the Dinner Continue?<\/p>\n
Trump initially said he hoped the event would continue.<\/p>\n
\u201cQuite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job,\u201d he wrote. \u201cThe shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we let the show go on.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, later in the evening, White House Correspondents\u2019 Association President Weijia Jiang announced the dinner would be postponed and rescheduled within 30 days.<\/p>\n
She told attendees that law enforcement had requested everyone leave the premises and confirmed that all senior officials were safe.<\/p>\n
What Else Did Trump Say?<\/p>\n
Speaking later at the White House, Trump said he was \u201chonored\u201d to be a target, referencing previous attempts on his life in recent years.<\/p>\n
He also described Melania\u2019s reaction during the chaos.<\/p>\n
\u201cI heard a loud noise and thought it was a tray falling,\u201d Trump said. \u201cMelania knew immediately something was wrong. She said, \u2018That\u2019s a bad noise.\u2019 Then we were whisked away. It happened in seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Authorities continue investigating the motive and full sequence of events.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are both safe following a shooting at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner in Washington, D.C. The president, the first lady, pregnant White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and other officials were rushed out of the ballroom at the Washington Hilton hotel when gunfire erupted on Saturday night. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-politics"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/copscare.ink\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/copscare.ink\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/copscare.ink\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copscare.ink\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copscare.ink\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=280"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/copscare.ink\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":281,"href":"https:\/\/copscare.ink\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280\/revisions\/281"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/copscare.ink\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copscare.ink\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copscare.ink\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}