{"id":210102,"date":"2026-04-26T05:46:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/210102\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T05:46:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T05:46:12","slug":"melania-trump-heard-bad-noise-as-suspected-gunman-cole-allen-opened-fire-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/210102\/","title":{"rendered":"Melania Trump heard ‘bad noise’ as suspected gunman Cole Allen opened fire at White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Trump said First Lady Melania Trump had a \u201ctraumatic experience\u201d as she declared \u201cthat\u2019s a bad noise\u201d when an alleged gunman fired several shots<\/a> outside the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner Saturday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cMelania was very cognizant,\u201d Trump said at a press conference at the White House just over an hour after the chaotic scene across town.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a rather traumatic experience for her,\u201d he added\u00a0<\/p>\n

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump attend the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association Dinner in Washington, DC, on April 25, 2026. Pool\/ABACA\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The first couple had just made their grand entrance to the annual event at the Washington Hilton Hotel when they heard what they initially thought was dinner trays falling. But she soon realized something was wrong and said \u201cthat\u2019s a bad noise,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n

The commander in chief revealed the first lady has always been cautious of his job and the higher risk he is put in.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first lady was doing a terrific job. She loves the country. She recognizes it better than any. But she told me numerous times, she said \u2018you are in a dangerous job.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Secret Service agents captured suspected shooter Cole Allen<\/a> in the lobby.<\/p>\n

Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from Torrance, Calif., was found armed with a \u201cshotgun, handgun and multiple knives,\u201d DC Police Chief Jeffrey Carroll told reporters.<\/p>\n

First lady Melania Trump attends a press briefing at the White House on April 25, 2026. REUTERS<\/p>\n

Suspected shooter Cole Allen is detained by law enforcement agents inside the Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

The gunman is believed to have acted alone, but a motive and target have not been revealed.<\/p>\n

CCTV footage captured the alleged gunman storming through the hotel lobby and past several Secret Service agents.<\/p>\n

Trump, Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and members of Trump\u2019s Cabinet were rushed out of the ballroom.<\/p>\n

Secret Service Agents rush President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump off the dais at the White House Correspondents\u2019 dinner. REUTERS<\/p>\n

Guests, including journalists and members of Trump\u2019s cabinet, took cover under their table as Trump and Melania were rushed off the dais.<\/p>\n

One Secret Service agent was shot in the chaos.<\/p>\n

Trump said the agent was hit \u201cfrom a very close distance with a very powerful gun,\u201d but survived thanks to his bulletproof vest and is in \u201cgreat shape\u201d at a local hospital.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Trump said First Lady Melania Trump had a \u201ctraumatic experience\u201d as she declared \u201cthat\u2019s a bad noise\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210103,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[83162,153,7391,9,11,10,87,3980,58,8093,83124],"class_list":{"0":"post-210102","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-2026-white-house-correspondents-dinner-shooting","9":"tag-donald-trump","10":"tag-melania-trump","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-headlines","13":"tag-new-york-news","14":"tag-politics","15":"tag-shootings","16":"tag-us-news","17":"tag-washington-dc","18":"tag-white-house-correspondents-dinner"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210102"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210102\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}