(LifeSiteNews) — President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and Vice-President J.D.Vance were whisked from a hotel ballroom last night after a would-be assassin began to shoot outside its doors.
Pray for President Trump and for the United States of America! https://t.co/FErmm0rMJ2
— John-Henry Westen (@JhWesten) April 26, 2026
Around 8:30 PM on Saturday, April 25, at the Washington D.C. Hilton, where the White House Correspondents Dinner was taking place, a man burst through in-hotel security with knives and guns and opened fire.
Another angle of the CHAOS after shooting during the WHCD inside the Washington Hilton. pic.twitter.com/1kTntnx32V https://t.co/kQlHk8CVM2
— Pat Gray Unleashed (@PatUnleashed) April 26, 2026
After allegedly injuring a federal protection agent, who was saved by his bulletproof vest, the man was overpowered by the Secret Service.
According to the New York Post, the man has been identified as Cole Allen, a 31-year-old teacher living in Torrance, California. Photos of the alleged shooter show him shirtless on his stomach on the carpeted hotel floor, his hands behind his back. Mainstream media has published photographs of Allen in happier days with his parents and siblings.
The White House Correspondents Dinner was attended not only by the President, First Lady, and Vice-President but by other leading members of the Trump Administration, including Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. There was present also a host of Washington insiders, like Turning Point USA’s Erika Kirk, celebrities and, of course, elite members of the mainstream media.
Erika Kirk breaks down in tears as she leaves the White House dinner after shots were fired.
She was tragically widowed when a left-wing assassin took her husband’s life.
Heartbreaking to see what Charlie Kirk’s wife has gone through. pic.twitter.com/6XzuZkAGrU
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) April 26, 2026
Although Trump said he expressed a willingness for the White House Correspondents Dinner to continue, it was canceled.
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At the press conference following the incident, the President called the attacker a “thug who attacked our Constitution” and “a very sick person.” He stated that the Hilton is “not a particularly secure building” and explained that security concerns are why a new “drone-proof” ballroom is being built at the White House.
He pledged to host an “even nicer” White House Correspondents Dinner within 30 days.
This is third known shooting at an event headlined by President Trump.
RELATED: Trump safe following second assassination attempt
The motives for the shooting are as yet unreported.
Developing….