A tense scene unfolded during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner when a man, armed with guns and knives, made a shocking intrusion just outside the event’s lobby. The dinner, attended by President Donald Trump, turned chaotic as the armed individual charged towards the ballroom, prompting Secret Service agents to swiftly respond while guests sought shelter under tables amidst the sound of gunfire.

President Trump, later addressing the situation, remarked from the safety of the White House, “When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone.” He assured the public that he was unharmed, still clad in his tuxedo, and suggested the assailant might have acted alone.

This dramatic incident interrupted an event dedicated to celebrating journalism and the First Amendment, drawing heightened attention as it marked Trump’s first attendance since assuming the presidency. In light of the disturbance, Trump expressed hope for a rescheduling of the dinner within the next 30 days. However, the event raised immediate concerns over the adequacy of security measures, especially considering the high-profile attendees, including senior government officials.

Footage shared by President Trump depicted the suspect bypassing security barricades with Secret Service agents in hot pursuit. During the confrontation, an officer was shot but fortunately protected by a bullet-resistant vest. The assailant was subdued without injury and taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to police reports.

Inside the ballroom, the sound of gunfire caused guests to scatter for cover, while Secret Service agents, including a heavily armed counterassault team, quickly secured the stage area. The Vice President, JD Vance, was swiftly evacuated, followed by President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. During the hurried exit, Trump briefly stumbled but was promptly assisted by his security team.

Vice President JD Vance was removed from the room first, while agents initially covered Trump in place before escorting him and first lady Melania Trump from the room. Trump briefly stumbled on the way offstage, before being assisted by his security detail.

He was held for some time in a secure presidential suite at the hotel as the president and organisers initially sought to resume the event – hotel staff refolded napkins and refilled water glasses, and aides adjusted the teleprompter for the president – before Trump was returned to the White House on the advice of the Secret Service.

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.”

FBI Director Kash Patel, flanking Trump, said the agency is examining a long gun and shell casings recovered from the scene, as well as interviewing witnesses from the dinner. He urged anyone with information to come forward.

Guests were dining on a spring pea and burrata salad when noise began — noise Trump said he initially thought was a tray dropping but some journalists believed were five to eight gunshots.

The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the room as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Audible gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realised something was happening; hundreds of journalists immediately got on phones to call in information.

“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck. From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as the president was escorted offstage. Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.

After an initial attempt to resume, the event was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled.

“We will do this again,” said Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents’ Association. Shortly afterwards, staff began breaking down table settings and the presidential lectern.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he and his wife, Kelly, who both attended the event, were “praying for our country tonight”. The House Democratic leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, wrote on social media, “The violence and chaos in America must end.”

The banquet hall — where hundreds of prominent journalists, celebrities and national leaders were awaiting Trump’s remarks — was immediately evacuated. Members of the National Guard took up position inside the building as people were allowed to leave but not immediately reenter. Security outside was also extremely tight.

Republican Representative Mike Lawler of New York, a guest at the dinner, said he heard a pop and “we didn’t know what the hell it was. And then you heard all sorts of things clatter.” Lawler said he gets “death threats often” and said, “I think we live in a climate where everybody recognises it’s a problem, but I don’t think people fully appreciate how much of a problem it really is”.

Generally, the Hilton hotel, where the dinner has taken place for years, remains open to regular guests during the correspondents’ dinner, and security has typically been focused on the ballroom rather than the hotel at large, with little screening for people not entering the dinner itself. In past years, that has created openings for disruptions in the lobby and other public spaces, including protests in which security moved to remove guests who unfurled banners or staged demonstrations.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr outside the Hilton — an event that prompted redesigns of the property that increased security and added a special presidential suite near the entrance where chief executives could be taken. Trump was dispatched there briefly after the incident on Saturday night.

Event would have highlighted Trump’s relationship with press

Trump’s attendance at Saturday’s annual dinner in Washington for his first time as president was expected to put his administration’s often-contentious relationship with the press on full public display.

Trump arrived to an event where the leaders of a nation at war mingled with celebrities, journalists and even a puppet — Triumph the Insult Comic Dog — in a dinner that typically generates debate about whether the relationship between journalists and their sources should include socialising together and putting aside sometimes adversarial relationships.

Trump was being watched closely at the event held by the organisation of reporters who cover him and his administration. Past presidents who have attended have generally spoken about the importance of free speech and the First Amendment, adding in some light roasts about individual journalists.

The Republican president did not attend during his first term or the first year of his second. He came as a guest in 2011, sitting in the audience as President Barack Obama, a Democrat, made some jokes about the New York real estate developer. Trump also attended as a private citizen in 2015.

Trump entered the banquet hall of the Washington Hilton to the strains of “Hail to the Chief” and greeted prominent journalists on the dais, also pausing to laud White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt with a cheerful pointing of his finger.

Past dinners have also featured comedians who poke at presidents. This year, the group opted to hire mentalist Oz Pearlman as the featured entertainment.

Between berating individual reporters, fighting organisations like The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press in court and restricting press access to the Pentagon, the administration’s animus toward journalists has been a fixture of Trump’s second term.

A few dozen protesters stood across the hotel in the run-up to the event. One was dressed in a prison uniform, wearing a Pete Hegseth mask and red gloves. Another carried a sign saying, “Journalism is dead”.