Just minutes into the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, as President Donald Trump spoke with Oz Pearlman, the celebrity mentalist serving as entertainment for the evening, Secret Service stormed the stage. As the hundreds assembled in the room ducked beneath their tables, Trump and those on the dais were quickly rushed off the stage.
It’s unclear what exactly prompted the intervention. C-SPAN host John McArdle, who was inside the ballroom, called into C-SPAN said he heard “boom, boom, boom” as salad was being served, before the Secret Service stormed the stage.
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins and Jake Tapper, live from the ballroom, reported that sources said a shooter was “stopped,” and is possibly dead. CNN later reported that Trump was safe and the shooter was in custody.
According to the White House press pool, “several loud bangs” were heard before Secret Service agents pushed the pool back and screamed, “Shots fired.”
The pool spotted FBI Director Kash Patel “walking briskly past the pool.”
