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Key events
Here’s what we know so far about the suspect:
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The Associated Press, citing two law enforcement officials, have identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California.
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He appeared to have been a “lone” gunman, said Jeff Carroll, the interim chief of police of the Metropolitan police department, and was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives when he allegedly “charged a US Secret Service checkpoint” at the Washington Hilton.
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We have no reason to believe at this time that anyone else was involved,” said Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser. The suspect was taken to a local hospital where he was being “evaluated”, she said.
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The suspect has been charged with felony firearms and assault charges, said Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia.
Aftermath of shooting incident at White House correspondents’ dinner
Hello and welcome to our live updates on US politics.
A suspect is in custody following a shooting incident at last night’s White House correspondents’ dinner.
Donald Trump and and wife Melania Trump were rushed out of the event at the Washington Hilton, the hotel where former president Ronald Reagan was shot in an attempted assassination in 1981.
Hundreds of guests, dressed in their black-tie best, hid under tables as US Secret Service agents with guns drawn rushed reporters out of the room and mentioned “shots fired”.
The suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, the Associated Press reported, citing two law enforcement officials. Trump posted on Truth Social two photos of the purported suspect, shirtless and facedown on the ground.
At a briefing in the press room not long after the event, Trump described the Washington Hilton as “not a particularly secure building” and argued for the merits of the construction of a ballroom at the White House. “This is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House. It’s actually a larger room, and it’s much more secure.”
Trump posted on Truth Social that he hoped to reschedule the dinner in the next 30 days.
Stay tuned for more.
