U.S. President Trump was attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on April 25 when gunshots rang out nearby. The gunman was subdued after reportedly assembling a “long-type” weapon in a loosely monitored area near the terrace-level entrance before opening fire and attempting to storm the banquet hall.
Following the gunfire, Trump and multiple officials were urgently evacuated from the scene, while law enforcement officers quickly subdued the suspect.
Trump later posted on his social media platform Truth Social, stating, “Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely. The shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON’ but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement. They will make a decision shortly.” He also shared surveillance footage identifying the suspect as 31-year-old California resident Cole Thomas Allen.
According to the New York Post, eyewitness Helen Mabus, a volunteer from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, described the area near the entrance as a “temporary space” used to store catering carts, noting that there was “no security presence” there at the time.
Mabus said, “He was inside that space… pulling [the weapon] out from some kind of bag,” adding that the weapon was “very long” and “didn’t look like an ordinary firearm.”
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She explained that the suspect assembled the weapon in the temporary storage area without attracting the attention of security personnel before suddenly moving toward the banquet hall.
“After he assembled it… he ran toward the stairs, preparing to go down into the banquet hall,” she said.
The suspect then reportedly began firing in multiple directions, sending guests and staff scrambling for safety. Mabus estimated hearing “at least 10 gunshots.”
The volunteer described the scene as immediate chaos, with “constant screaming and people running everywhere,” while Secret Service agents and armed law enforcement officers rushed to the location.
Mabus fled in the opposite direction and did not witness the suspect’s arrest. She noted that the chaos unfolded in the corridor leading directly to the banquet hall, where hundreds of distinguished guests had gathered.
