Guests went diving under tables as the scene unfolded and some reported hearing shots outside the vast subterranean ballroom in the Washington Hilton where the event was being held.

One law enforcement official said a gunman had opened fire. A law enforcement officer was shot in the bullet-resistant vest but is expected to be OK, several sources told The Associated Press.

The shooting suspect — described by Trump as a “sick person” — was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, two law enforcement officials told the AP.

“When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” Trump, safe and uninjured and still in his tuxedo, said at the White House two hours later. “They seem to think he was a lone wolf.”

A motorcade is seen arriving at the White House Correspondents Dinner at the Washington Hilton, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

There was no immediate indication of any other involvement, and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said she had “no reason” to believe anyone else was involved. Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him.

“There does not appear to be any sort of danger to the public at this time,” Bowser said at a separate news conference.

All officials protected by the Secret Service were evacuated. Those in attendance included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — and many other leaders of the Trump administration on a night when the nation is at war with Iran.

It was the third time since 2024 that the president had been under threat by an attacker in his immediate vicinity — including the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, that injured him and killed a local firefighter.

“Today we need levels of security that probably nobody has ever seen before,” the president said. But he also said, “We’re not going to let anybody take over our society.”

Members of law enforcement respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)

Members of law enforcement respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Law enforcement responds to an incident at the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)

President Donald Trump speaks in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House after an unspecified threat at the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in Washington, Saturday, April 25, 2026, as Vice President JD Vance, FBI director Kash Patel, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche listen. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)