“I heard a noise and thought it was a tray,” Trump said. “But it was a gun.”
The suspect, who officials said was not shot, was transported to Howard University Hospital, according to multiple people aware of the transfer.
“This is an isolated incident,” Washington DC interim police chief Jeffery Carroll said at a news conference.
The suspect, who was a guest at the hotel, was “armed with a shotgun”, a handgun and knives when he ran through a security checkpoint toward the ballroom where the dinner was taking place, Carroll said.
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said the suspect will be charged with two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence, along with one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. He will be arraigned in court on Monday (local time), she said.
Trump said the incident proved the need for the White House ballroom he has proposed building, saying it would be a more secure facility than the hotel where the dinner took place.
Secret Service said the incident took place near the dinner’s main screening area.
Witnesses reported hearing gunshots, and many people were seen ducking under tables as armed security officers poured into the room.
Trump posted on Truth Social that he “recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON’.”
Attendees were later told they must leave. This marked Trump’s first time attending the dinner since 2015.
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.
