President Trump, first lady Melania and a slew of top lawmakers and White House officials had to be dramatically evacuated from the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday night after a crazed gunman rushed the security perimeter and opened fire outside the ballroom.
The shooting erupted just after 8:30 p.m., about 20 minutes after the president and first lady made their grand entrance into the Washington Hilton ballroom in Washington, DC., where Trump and countless VIPS were set to toast the Washington press corps.
The shooter — blasted by Trump as a “sick” individual — charged toward the ballroom armed with a shotgun and multiple knives before being swiftly taken down by Secret Service agents in the lobby, police said, sharing shocking photos of the shirtless madman pinned face down on the floor.
Law enforcement sources identified him as Cole Allen, 31, a teacher and Caltech grad from Torrance, California.
Follow The Post’s live updates on the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
“The man has been captured. They’re going to his apartment. I guess he lives in California, and he’s a sick person.” Trump told reporters.
He also talked about the sense of togetherness he felt among the crowd at the dinner.
“This was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press, and in a certain way it did, because the fact that they just unified,” Trump said at a White House press briefing.
“I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was, in one way, very beautiful, a very beautiful thing to see.”
Officials said the deranged gunman rushed a security checkpoint and was headed toward the president’s location before being stopped outside the ballroom.
Police believe he was a guest at the hotel.
“But at this point it does appear he is a lone actor, a lone gunman,” Interim DC police chief Jeffrey Carroll confirmed Saturday night. “There does not appear to be any sort of danger to the public.”
One Secret Service agent was shot in the chaos. Trump said the agent was hit “from a very close distance with a very powerful gun,” but survived thanks to his bulletproof vest and is in “great shape” at a local hospital.
Organizers of the star-studded “nerd prom” program originally said that they wanted continue as planned; but then announced that the event was canceled by 9:45 p.m.
It will be rescheduled within 30 days, Trump said, noting he “fought like hell” to keep the event going as he was ready to tear into the press.
He also praised law enforcement and Secret Service for doing a “fantastic job” and acting “very quickly.”
