Breaking: New Video Shows Moment Gunfire Causes Panic at White House Dinner With Trump in Attendance
- Chaos erupted at the White House Correspondents' Dinner following reports of a shooting outside the ballroom
- President Donald Trump and other top officials were evacuated, but no serious injuries were reported during the incident
- The annual dinner, marked by Trump's first attendance as president, will be rescheduled after the abrupt cancellation
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering international affairs.
Washington, USA - A dramatic new video has shown law enforcement with guns drawn searching for the shooter and yelling “We have one down" as panic and confusion erupted after gunshots were heard at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
President Donald Trump was uninjured, and other top leaders of the United States (US) were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday night, April 25, after an unspecified threat. There did not immediately appear to be any injuries, and one law-enforcement official said a shooter had opened fire.
Source: AFP
Trump rushed off stage after shots fired
Authorities said the incident occurred outside the ballroom where Trump and other guests were seated. The event was scrapped and will be rescheduled.
Weijia Jiang, president of the White House Correspondents' Association, said:
“We will do this again."
Shortly afterwards, staff began breaking down table settings and the presidential lectern.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the banquet hall at the Washington Hilton as guests ducked under tables by the hundreds. Audible gasps echoed through the ballroom as guests realised something was happening. Hundreds of journalists got on phones to call in information.
“Out of the way, sir!” someone yelled. Others yelled to duck.
From one corner, a “God Bless America” chant began as Trump was escorted off stage. He fell briefly, he apparently tripped, and was helped up by Secret Service agents.
Law enforcement official speaks on shooter
A law enforcement official confirmed there was a shooter.
According to a law enforcement official, an officer was struck in the bullet-resistant vest but is expected to recover.
The dramatic new video can be watched below via a Fox News' post on X:
Some in the crowd reported hearing what they believed to be five to eight shots fired.
The banquet hall, where hundreds of prominent journalists, celebrities and national leaders were awaiting Trump’s remarks, was immediately evacuated.
Source: AFP
Security tightened at Washington Hilton
Members of the National Guard took up position inside the building as people were allowed to leave but not immediately re-enter. Security outside was also extremely tight.
Those in attendance included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and many other leaders of the Trump administration.
Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
Generally, the Hilton hotel, where the dinner has taken place for years, remains open to regular guests during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and security has typically been focused on the ballroom and rather than the hotel at large, with little screening for people not entering the dinner itself.
In past years, that has created openings for disruptions in the lobby and other public spaces, including protests in which security moved to remove guests who unfurled banners or staged demonstrations.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro posted a short video from the hotel after the incident, saying:
“I have been taken out of the ballroom after the sound of the shots fired. The Secret Service is now in charge of this building, this hotel. I just spoke to Mayor Murial Bowser. She is on her way and (police) Chief Jeffery Carroll is on his way. He will be in charge as soon as he gets here.”
White House event was about to take place
Trump’s attendance at Saturday’s annual dinner in Washington for his first time as president is putting his administration’s often-contentious relationship with the press on full public display.
Trump arrived to an event where the leaders of a nation at war mingled with celebrities, journalists and even a puppet, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog, in a dinner that typically generates debate about whether the relationship between journalists and their sources should include socializing together and putting aside sometimes adversarial relationships.
Trump was being watched closely at the event held by the organisation of reporters who cover him and his administration.
Past presidents who have attended have generally spoken about the importance of free speech and the First Amendment, adding in some light roasts about individual journalists.
The Republican president did not attend during his first term or the first year of his second. He came as a guest in 2011, sitting in the audience as President Barack Obama, a Democrat, made some jokes about the New York real estate developer. Trump also attended as a private citizen in 2015.
Trump entered the subterranean banquet hall of the Washington Hilton to the strains of “Hail to the Chief” and greeted prominent journalists on the dais, also pausing to laud White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt with a cheerful pointing of his finger.
Past dinners have also featured comedians who poke at presidents. This year (2026), the group opted to hire mentalist Oz Pearlman as the featured entertainment.
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Donald Trump not dead
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Trump reacted to viral rumours falsely claiming that he is dead.
During a press conference, Trump was asked by a reporter whether he was aware that many social media users thought he had died.
The 79-year-old replied, “No. Really? I didn’t see that.”
Source: Legit.ng
Ridwan Adeola Yusuf (Current Affairs Editor) Ridwan Adeola Yusuf is a content writer with more than nine years of experience, He is also a Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng. He holds a Higher National Diploma in Mass Communication from the Polytechnic Ibadan, Oyo State (2014). Ridwan previously worked at Africa Check, contributing to fact-checking research works within the organisation. He is an active member of the Academic Excellence Initiative (AEI). In March 2024, Ridwan completed the full Google News Initiative Lab workshop and his effort was recognised with a Certificate of Completion. Email: ridwan.adeola@corp.legit.ng.
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