Men in tuxedos and women in dresses dove under tables at the White House Correspondents' Association annual dinner on Saturday night, after what sounded like gunfire erupted in the ballroom. The incident, which occurred at 8:36pm, saw Secret Service agents race through the room as guests scrambled for cover. Donald and Melania Trump were quickly evacuated from the dais.
One officer was shot but protected by a bulletproof vest, according to reports. An assailant carrying guns and knives had rushed a Secret Service checkpoint in a lobby of the Washington Hilton hotel before being apprehended. The hotel was fortified after the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan 45 years ago.
Democratic congressman Jamie Raskin said he was thrown to the ground by the Secret Service. 'People were screaming and yelling,' he told reporters. 'People were terrified.' Consultant Frank Luntz expressed concern about the state of political discourse, saying: 'It bothers me that it seems like people feel justified screaming, hollering, threatening.'
The dinner was postponed, with the president returning to the White House for a briefing. The evening had already been charged, as it marked Trump's first attendance at the event as president, raising questions about his relationship with the media.
