WASHINGTON, D.C. — Gunfire erupted at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday evening, sending guests diving under tables and into restrooms for cover. Secret Service agents fired five or six shots that missed a 31-year-old man identified as Cole Tomas Allen before tackling him near a staircase leading to the main floor, where President Trump was seated in view.

Trump had entered the ballroom at 8:15 p.m. as the Marine band played "Hail to the Chief." Waiters had begun clearing plates of spring pea and burrata salad when the gunshots rang out at about 8:30 p.m. Security footage later showed Allen sprinting through metal detectors outside a men's restroom and getting within feet of the ballroom entrance.

A federal agent was struck in the chest during the exchange of gunfire but was wearing a bullet-proof vest and was not seriously injured. A Secret Service agent escorted Trump off the stage, while another agent pulled Vice President JD Vance away. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel, and Homeland Security advisor Stephen Miller were also removed from the area.

Inside the ballroom, guests dove under tables, with one losing a shoe while scrambling and dragging it under the table. Others locked themselves in bathroom stalls, attempting to call loved ones despite spotty cellphone service. Three hotel security guards rushed into the men's restroom and flattened themselves against the tiled wall, while a Secret Service agent stood guard at the door with his pistol drawn. There was initial confusion about whether the noise had been gunshots or plates dropping.

Wolf Blitzer was tackled to the floor by officers during the incident. "The first thing that went through my mind was whether he was going to shoot me," Blitzer said.

Trump later recounted his own reaction to the sounds. "I thought it was a tray going down," he said, adding that he had been urged to drop to the floor.

About 20 minutes after the shooting began, Secret Service officers wearing ballistic vests and carrying long guns entered the ballroom and onto the stage, barking instructions to clear a path. Reporters under the tables stayed in place for several minutes, texting loved ones and waiting for an all-clear.

Just before 9 p.m., senior White House correspondent Weijia Jiang told guests the program would "resume momentarily." Thirty minutes later, she announced that law enforcement had requested guests leave the premises, and said Trump had told her no one was hurt and that the first lady and members of the Cabinet were safe. In closing remarks, Jiang said journalism is a public service "because when there is an emergency, we run to the crisis — not away from it."