![\"WASHINGTON,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/4JPKBAM_AFP__20260426__2273155913__v1__HighRes__PresidentTrumpMakesAStatementFromWhiteHouseA_jpg.jpeg\")
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\nDonald Trump addresses a press conference after the Washington attack.
\nPhoto: NATHAN HOWARD\n<\/p>\n
By Danny Kemp, AFP<\/p>\n
US Secret Service agents bundled President 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”.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
Repeated security lapses<\/p>\n
Trump said one officer was shot at close range, but appeared to not be critically injured. He added that the venue was “not a particularly secure” facility, as questions swirled about the president’s safety.<\/p>\n
At the hastily arranged news conference, the president said he first thought the noise was a tray being dropped, before he realised it was gunfire. He said he planned to reschedule the media gala within a month, despite the security scare.<\/p>\n
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, handgun and knives.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He appears to be in good spirits.”<\/p>\n
As the incident erupted, tactical teams with guns drawn took position on the stage, where Trump had been sitting during dinner, before he was evacuated.<\/p>\n
Police surrounded the hotel and helicopters hovered overhead.<\/p>\n
The security breach occurred after the welcoming speech and during dinner, before Trump was due to speak.<\/p>\n
Cabinet members were evacuated first, as confusion and concern spread through the partying guests.<\/p>\n
One administration official, Mehmet Oz, told journalists “shots fired upstairs”, as he was rushed out by security.<\/p>\n
Glitzy annual gala<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The Washington Hilton, where Saturday’s gala was taking place, was the site where Republican President Ronald Reagan was shot by a would-be assassin in 1981.<\/p>\n
Organisers initially told guests that Saturday’s dinner would continue, before announcing it had been postponed.<\/p>\n
The White House Correspondents’ Association invited Trump this year, despite his repeated attacks on the media.<\/p>\n
Unlike all other presidents from the past 100 years, Trump had never attended, while in office.<\/p>\n
The ‘Nerd Prom’ – as attendees dub it – brings together journalists and the who’s who of Washington to raise funds for scholarships and awards.<\/p>\n
The event often has a comedian joking about the president, who traditionally makes a few cracks of his own, although no comedian was booked this year.<\/p>\n
– AFP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Donald Trump addresses a press conference after the Washington attack. Photo: NATHAN HOWARD By Danny Kemp, AFP US…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":398276,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[48,47,42,43,49,46,44,45,40,38,41,39],"class_list":["post-398275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-audio","tag-current-affairs","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-podcasts","tag-public-radio","tag-radio-new-zealand","tag-rnz","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=398275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/398275\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/398276"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=398275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=398275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=398275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}