By our reporter 26.4.2026
US President Donald Trump was on Saturday involved in a shooting scare during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner held at the Washington Hilton.
Trump and his Vice President JD Vance were whisked to safety by the secret service, while journalists and other guests took cover underneath tables. There was no casualty in the shooting which occurred near the entrance of the hall.
The shooter has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, California, who according to reports was guest at the hotel where late former US President Ronald Regan was shot and wounded in 1981. The suspect was arrested and taken into custody by the police.
Speaking on the incident, which his administration officials believe was an assassination attempt on Trump, he said: “I’ve studied assassinations. I must tell you the most impactful people, the people that do the most… they’re the ones that they go after.
“I hate to say I’m honoured by that, but I’ve done a lot. We’ve changed this country, and there are a lot of people that are not happy about that. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it’s a dangerous life.
“To be honest, I’m not a basket case. A tremendous amount of love and coming together. I was ready to give the most inappropriate speech ever made.”
This is the third time Trump would be involved in a gun episode. During the 2024 election campaigns a bullet narrowly missed his head, the suspect was shot dead at the scene. Then another gunman, 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, was arrested while lying in wait for Trump at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
