US President Donald Trump appeared to lose his footing and stumble while being rapidly evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner venue after a gun scare triggered panic and a full-scale security response in Washington on Saturday night.
Footage circulating on social media showed Trump faltering briefly in a corridor as Secret Service agents hustled him out of the ballroom at the Washington Hilton, where moments earlier, the sound of gunfire had thrown the gathering into disarray.
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were quickly evacuated from the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner. As security personnel rushed the president and senior cabinet members out, journalists and attendees took cover under tables. Authorities later confirmed that the shooter had been detained and asked guests to leave.
White House Correspondents’ Association Chair Weijia Jiang later returned to the stage to announce that the dinner would be rescheduled.
During a White House press briefing later that night, Trump described the shooter as a “lone wolf” and called the hotel hosting the event “not a particularly secure building.”
The FBI stated that a suspect was in custody following the chaos, which erupted in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton during the annual black-tie gala honoring the White House press corps.
