How gunfire threw Trump’s glitzy Washington Hilton dinner into chaos
Panic gripped the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, sending guests diving for cover as security evacuated the US president
It was meant to be a glitzy Saturday night at a Washington ballroom featuring President Donald Trump, but the glamour was shattered by gunshots that left guests diving to the floor and the US leader bundled out by security personnel.
Trump was seated on the dais at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s annual dinner – the first time he is attending as president – when loud bangs disrupted the revelry and caused him and others on stage to look up in alarm.
Video captured by news outlets attending the event showed a chaotic scene unfolding.
Moments after what sounded like gunshots, cries of “Stay down!” and “Get down!” were heard while guests in black tie and gowns – including correspondents, officials in the Trump administration and some members of his cabinet – took cover.
Amid the chaos, the president and first lady Melania Trump were quickly surrounded by US Secret Service agents, their weapons drawn. They quickly rushed Trump off the stage and through a back curtain as the crowd crouched in shock.
Trump said later he “thought it was a tray going down” before later realising it was a gun. “It was either a tray or a bullet. I thought I was hoping it was a tray, but it wasn’t.”