US shooting bares security vulnerabilities

WASHINGTON — The shooting on Saturday night of a Secret Service agent at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner raises questions yet again about security at a time of increased political violence.

United States President Donald Trump was unharmed and other top White House officials were evacuated from the event after a man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby and opened fire.

Hundreds of agents from several law enforcement agencies were tasked with protecting the annual bash, which Trump attended for the first time as president.

Yet a suspect armed with a shotgun and other weapons managed to get a floor above the ballroom where an extraordinary concentration of cabinet members, high-ranking lawmakers and celebrities were dining.

In addition to Trump, US Vice-President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and other government officials were in attendance.

It is too early to definitively say whether there were any law enforcement failures or miscommunications, Reuters noted.

But coming less than two years after a pair of assassination attempts against Trump during the presidential campaign in 2024, Saturday's incident suggests even the nation's most comprehensive personal security apparatus has points of vulnerability.

Washington's police chief said the alleged gunman — who was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and knives — was staying at the Washington Hilton hotel where the dinner took place.

In a Truth Social post, Trump shared a photo of the suspected gunman, who appears to have been subdued, with his hands bound behind his back and lying face down on the ground.

In a news conference at the White House late on Saturday evening, Trump said the alleged shooter lives in the state of California and law enforcement agents went to his apartment.

When asked by a reporter whether the shooter acted alone, Trump said that "they seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I feel that too".

In response to a question about whether this shooting could have been linked to the war in Iran, Trump said,"I don't think so. But you never know."

"It's not particularly a secure building," Trump said of the hotel about a 10-minute drive from the White House.

It was also the site of a 1981 assassination attempt against then-president Ronald Reagan.

While the roughly 2,600 attendees were required to pass through metal detectors to enter the basement ballroom, they needed only to show a ticket to enter the hotel itself, which was also open to guests.

With the venue's entrance surrounded by demonstrators, many protesting the US administration's war against Iran, attendees were quickly waved through.

Trump was evacuated from the dinner after the shooting at the hotel. Attendees were seen on the live broadcast ducking around their tables and taking cover.

In a joint press conference, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said all guests at the dinner were safe, while US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro said the suspect now faces charges including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.

US media identified the suspect as Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, California.

Trump confirmed the shooter is in custody. "The shooter has been apprehended," he wrote on social media.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wrote on X: "Political violence has no place in any democracy and my thoughts are with all those who have been shaken by this disturbing event."

Political violence has been frequent in the US in recent years. Trump has been the target of multiple assassination attempts and death threats during his presidential campaign and as the president.

The most prominent example is the July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, which Trump narrowly survived while campaigning for president.