United States. Get down! Get down!: Donald Trump evacuated from gala after shots fired, suspect arrested

What happened in the ballroom?

Gunshots were heard after the welcome speech at the gala dinner held at the Washington Hilton Hotel. Security teams, armed and ready, took position on the stage where Donald Trump was sitting with his wife Melania, Vice President JD Vance, and other officials who were quickly evacuated.

Hundreds of guests in evening attire sheltered under tables in the ballroom, then made their way to the hotel lobby before exiting to the outside, where the event was postponed. Authorities stated that no personalities or gala guests were injured.

How did the shooting unfold?

According to authorities, a “lone shooter” breached a security checkpoint in the hotel lobby just outside the ballroom where the dinner was taking place around 8:36 pm (2:36 am in France). Donald Trump shared images on his Truth Social platform showing the suspect rushing the checkpoint before being subdued by police. “He was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and several knives,” interim Metropolitan Police Department Chief Jeffery Carroll told journalists.

Law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the suspect and “apprehended the individual.” A Secret Service officer was “hit in the bulletproof vest” and taken to the hospital, but was in good condition. The suspect was unharmed by gunfire and was taken to the hospital for examination. He was in custody and scheduled to appear before a federal judge on Monday in a federal court.

A rifle and shell casings were found at the scene, said FBI Director Kash Patel, adding that the FBI was conducting witness interviews as part of its investigations.

Who is the suspect?

Donald Trump shared photos of the presumed shooter, shirtless and handcuffed, head bowed, in what appears to be the Hilton lobby. Authorities have not publicly confirmed his identity, but according to American media, he is a 31-year-old man named Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, California. Based on preliminary information, “we believe he was one of the hotel’s guests,” Jeffery Carroll told journalists. The detained man is considered the sole suspect in this case, officials said.

He currently faces two charges: use of a firearm in a violent crime, and assaulting a federal agent with a dangerous weapon, stated federal prosecutor Jeanine Pirro. Additional charges may be added as the investigation progresses. “My impression is that he was a lone wolf,” Donald Trump said, adding that the suspect’s motive has not been established yet, but he believed the shooter was “sick.”

Were there security failures?

Questions have been raised about the hotel’s security at the reception area and how a weapon could have been introduced into the hotel. Participants reported that a metal detection portal was set up outside the ballroom, but there was no such control beforehand or at the hotel entrance.

Initially, Donald Trump said it was “not a particularly secure building,” but later asserted that the shooter did not enter the ballroom where the event was being held, as it was “very, very secure.” The checkpoint the suspect tried to breach was “just outside the ballroom,” authorities stated. “Because the agents at this checkpoint did their job, no one was injured,” emphasized Ms. Pirro.

“We will analyze the videos throughout the hotel to understand how the weapon entered, how it made it this far,” Jeffery Carroll added. According to Donald Trump, the security services did “a much better job than Butler,” where he was the target of an assassination attempt in 2024 at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.