New Delhi: The US President Donald Trump and officials of his administration were the targets of the accused gunman who tried to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington with guns and knives, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday.
The man, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, fired a shotgun at a Secret Service agent at a security checkpoint in the Washington Hilton hotel on Saturday before being tackled and arrested. Trump was hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables as the gunshot rang.
“It does appear that he, he did, in fact, have set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC News adding that the suspect traveled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington. He then checked in as a guest at the hotel where the event was being held.
Trump said he was the target of the shooter
The accused, according to an AP report, is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.
Trump on Saturday told reporters that he believed he was the target of the attack. “You know, he charged from 50 yards away, so he was very far away from the room. He was moving. He was really moving,” Trump said. he described the attacker as a lone wolf.
While the suspect has not been named officially, social media posts suggest him of being a teacher in Torrance, near Los Angeles.
How the event unfolded
The shooting, according to reports, happened minutes into the event. Trump along with vice president J D Vance was present at the stage when shots rang inside the arena.
Secret Service agents whisked the president and the VP off the stage. Trump stayed backstage for about an hour after being hustled from the stage, a source told Reuters. The guests, believed to be around 2,600, ducked under the tables.
After an initial attempt to resume the event, it was scrapped for the night and will be rescheduled, according to an AP report.