President Donald Trump and senior government officials were evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday after what the Secret Service called a “shooting incident.”
Trump and Secret Service officials said the alleged shooter had been apprehended. The Secret Service said in a statement that it was investigating an incident near the event’s security screening area, and that all of the service’s protectees are safe.
The annual dinner, which Trump was attending for the first time as president, usually draws about 3,000 attendees. It was canceled after about an hour of confusion. The president said he would brief the public from the White House later Saturday.
“The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. He added that he’d asked WHCA organizers to reschedule the dinner “within 30 days.”
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Multiple gunshots were heard outside the Washington Hilton ballroom around 8:35 p.m., as the dinner was underway.
Secret Service officials quickly removed the president, who was seated on stage, from the room.
Secret Service officers then began jumping over tables to evacuate Cabinet members, who were spread around the crowded ballroom. They escorted out several officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Secret Service officers jumped over tables to evacuate Cabinet members, who were spread around the crowded ballroom.https://t.co/8XPdNfqiVz pic.twitter.com/9QSpb8miVG
— NOTUS (@NOTUSreports) April 26, 2026
Secret Service then moved to escort out members of Congress, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Majority Whip Tom Emmer.
There was initially confusion about whether the event would go on: CBS News’ Weijia Jiang, the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, announced that the dinner’s programming would continue, but a rank-and-file Secret Service agent told NOTUS that the room was now a crime scene, meaning everyone had to leave.
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, a guest at the dinner, told NOTUS he didn’t “know how to react” after the apparent gunfire.
“I heard a pop. I don’t know if it was a gunshot or anything like that, but I did hear a pop,” he said. “And I looked up on stage, and I saw someone from Secret Service aiming their gun into the crowd. I didn’t know what the hell was going on. And then they started telling everybody, ‘Get down.’ And at that point, everybody got down. … It was pretty alarming to say the least.”
Trump has been targeted twice by would-be assassins. Scalise was wounded by a gunman at a congressional baseball team practice in 2017.
Secret service agents respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
Members of law enforcement respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington.
Tom Brenner/AP
Security rapidly escort Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. out during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington.
Tom Brenner/AP
FBI Director Kash Patel is seen on his phone as top U.S. leaders were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents after an unspecified threat, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington.
Tom Brenner/AP
The empty stage is seen after President Donald Trump and other top leaders were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday night(, April 25, 2026, in Washington.
Zeke Miller/AP
Law enforcement officials direct traffic outside the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington.
Rod Lamkey/AP
Secret service agents respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
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