“We do believe, based upon just a very preliminary start to understanding what happened, that he was targeting members of the administration.”
Blanche added no further motive was known for the attack, confirming the suspect – who was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives – was staying at the Washington Hilton hotel where the black-tie dinner was held on Saturday evening.
“We believe that he travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then from Chicago to Washington,” Blanche said. “It appears he purchased these firearms in the past couple years.”
Suspect stayed at hotel venue
Trump, without providing details, said the gunman had written an “anti-Christian” manifesto.
“The guy is a sick guy,” Trump told Fox News. “His sister or his brother actually was complaining about it. They were even complaining to law enforcement.”
The New York Post said the suspect, widely named as Cole Allen, 31, had written in a note shared with his family shortly before the attack that his targets would be “prioritised from highest-ranking to lowest”.
In the seconds after the clash a floor above, Secret Service agents swarmed into the ballroom, prompting chaotic scenes as attendees dived under tables.
Crowded into the ballroom were Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, several Cabinet members and top lawmakers, and hundreds of guests in black tie.
Trump said at a hastily arranged late-night news conference at the White House that he first thought the noise was a tray being dropped, before realising it was gunfire.
He said he hoped the annual gala, hosted by the White House Correspondents’ Association, would be rescheduled within a month.
“They seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I feel that too,” the President said. One officer was shot at close range in his safety vest and appeared to be not seriously harmed.
Trump added that the hotel venue was “not a particularly secure” facility, as questions swirled about the President’s safety protocols.
Multiple attempts on Trump’s life
Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in 2024. A gunman fired several shots, killing an audience member and lightly wounding the President in the ear.
A few months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking from the bushes on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing a round.
The Washington Hilton, where Saturday’s gala was taking place, was the site where Republican President Ronald Reagan was shot by a would-be assassin in 1981.
Trump said the shooting underlined the security reasons that he has cited for planning a huge new ballroom next to the White House that has faced legal challenges.
The White House Correspondents’ Association invited Trump to its gala this year despite his repeated attacks on the media.
Before this year and unlike all other presidents from the past 100 years, Trump had never attended while in office.
The dinner brings together journalists and the who’s who of Washington to raise funds for scholarships and awards.
The incident late on Saturday came less than 48 hours before King Charles and Queen Camilla begin a four-day state visit to Washington.
-Agence France-Presse
