Former US President Barack Obama on Sunday (Apr 26) issued his first response on the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner event, in which US President Donald Trump was allegedly targeted.
He called on Americans to reject violence, but raised questions asking why the motive behind the attack has not been disclosed yet. Moreover, the former president did not even mention Trump’s name in his tweet.
In a post on X, he wrote, “Although we don’t yet have the details about the motives behind last night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, it’s incumbent upon all (of) us to reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy. He added praise for law enforcement officers who scrambled to protect Trump.
What happened at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner?
US President Donald Trump faced a major security scare when a gunman open fired at the screening area of the gala event. Trump and others from his administration, including Vice President JD Vance and First Lady Melania Trump were escorted off the stage by US Secret Service agents. The security forces pinned down the suspect and ensured that no one was harmed.
Who is the suspect?
Suspected gunman was identified as 31-year old Cole Tomas Allen who lives in California. Officials said that he is acting alone. An anti-Christian, anti-Trump manifesto has been released in which he has said that he cannot allow a “peadophile, rapist” to coat his “hands with his crimes.” He also said that he wanted to cry for all the things that the “this administration” has done. However, he did not name Trump or anyone from his administration directly. Preliminary investigations confirmed that he “was targeting members of the administration.” It was also revealed that his guns were purchased legally. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the motive of the person is still under investigation.
What Trump said about the gunman?
Trump, in his latest remark against the gunman said that he appears to have had “hatred in his heart for a while” and it was a “religious thing”, “strongly anti-Christian.” In his press address soon after the incident, Trumo described the attacker as “lone wolf” and among “sick people…” “The man has been captured. They’ve gone to his apartment. I guess he lives in California, and he’s a sick person, a very sick person, and we don’t want things like this to happen.” He also said that one officer was shot at close range by the shooter but was saved by a bulletproof vest.