US authorities believe President Donald Trump and members of his administration were likely targets of a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, as new details emerge from the president and witnesses.
Acting US Attorney-General Todd Blanche said early evidence suggests the alleged gunman, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of California, was targeting administration figures when he opened fire near a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night.
The suspect, who was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives, was tackled and arrested after shooting a Secret Service officer. He is expected to face federal charges.
In a new interview on CBS’s 60 Minutes, Trump said he was unsure if he had been the intended target.
“I don’t know, it sounds to me I read a manifesto he’s radicalised, he was a Christian, a beliver and then he became an anti-christian, he had a change he’s been going through a lot based on what he wrote,” he said.
Trump added there had been prior concerns raised about the suspect.
“He was probably a pretty sick guy.”
Earlier, Trump described the accused as a “sick man” and praised law enforcement, saying officers “were outstanding, they stopped him cold”, while calling for “unity and healing” after what could be the third assassination attempt against him.
Investigators are examining a manifesto and other writings allegedly left by the suspect, with US media reporting the attack may have been politically motivated and directed at the Trump administration.
The incident has prompted renewed concern over political violence in the United States, with the White House stating: “this political violence has to end”.
Former president Barack Obama echoed the sentiment, urging Americans to “reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy” and adding: “I’m grateful to them – and thankful that the agent who was shot is going to be okay.”
Witnesses at the event described chaotic scenes as the shooting unfolded. Kerry Kennedy said there was a “tremendous sense of fear” inside the room.
“We heard this big bang and then suddenly people started yelling ‘get down get down get down’,” she said.
“Twenty or thirty of them and they all had their hands on their holsters and they were looking around like they didn’t know if there were many shooters in the room and there was this tremendous sense of fear and the unknown.”
“I was so scared, it was like my body could not move.”
Former Kansas senator Donald Betts said the incident reflects the risks of public office in the US.
“When you run for Federal office you get the death threats, you always panic,” he said.
“It is very difficult for public servants is t is a scary deal.”
Security experts say the case highlights the difficulty of detecting so-called “lone wolf” attackers. Former counterterrorism official Javid Ali said authorities would now examine all aspects of the suspect’s life.
“Nothing stopped this person from doing what they did until they were literally running through one of the security checkpoints at the Capitol Hilton. That’s when they got stopped,” he said.
Despite the breach, officials said the response prevented greater harm, with the suspect stopped before reaching the main ballroom where senior political leaders and journalists were gathered.
A planned four-day visit to the US by King Charles and Queen Camilla will proceed as scheduled, Buckingham Palace confirmed.
