Trump evacuated as shooter opens fire at Washington event

US Secret Service agents rushed President Donald Trump from the stage as shots rang out at a media gala, in what the president later described as an attack by a "would-be assassin".

Armed guards opened fire at the gunman who charged through a security screening just outside the ballroom of the hotel, where Mr Trump, US First Lady Melania Trump, many senior government officials and hundreds of other guests had gathered.

Many of the 2,600 attendees took ⁠cover while waiters fled ‌to the front of the dining hall when the loud bangs happened at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, which is held annually at the Washington Hilton in the US capital.

"A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons and he was taken down by some very brave members of the Secret Service," Mr Trump told a press conference at the White House shortly after the incident.

"They seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I feel that too," he said, after posting video of the gunman sprinting past security as guards drew their weapons and opened fire.

The man was detained at the scene.

President Trump said one officer was shot at close range but appeared to not be seriously injured, adding he was in "good shape".

He said the venue was "not a particularly secure" facility as questions were raised about the president's safety after repeated security lapses.

Mr Trump said at a hastily arranged news conference at the White House that he first thought the noise was a tray being dropped before he realized it was gunfire.

He said he planned to re-schedule the media gala within a month despite the security scare.

US Attorney Jeanine Piro said the suspect will be charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

As the incident erupted, tactical teams with guns drawn took position on the stage where Mr Trump had been sitting during dinner before he was evacuated.

Police swarmed the Washington Hilton hotel and helicopters hovered overhead.

The security breach occurred after the welcoming speech and during dinner, before Mr Trump was due to speak.

Trump administration officials were evacuated first as confusion and concern spread through the ballroom.

A cabinet official, Mehmet Oz, told journalists "shots fired upstairs" as he was rushed out by security.

President Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in 2024.

Mr Trump was grazed on his right ear when a 20-year-old gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop while the Republican presidential candidate was holding a campaign rally in Butler on 13 July.

One person in the audience was killed and the gunman, Thomas Crooks, was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.

A few months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking from the bushes on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Mr Trump was playing a round.

The Washington Hilton where the gala was taking place was the site where Republican President Ronald Reagan was shot by a would-be assassin in 1981.

President Trump was attending the correspondents' dinner for the first time while in office.

The White House Correspondents' Association invited Mr Trump this year despite his repeated attacks on the media.

The move had drawn backlash across newsrooms, and hundreds of journalists signed an open letter asking attendees to call out Mr Trump's press restrictions.

Unlike all other presidents from the past 100 years, Mr Trump has never attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner while in office - until now.

The "Nerd Prom" as attendees dub it brings together hundreds of Washington journalists and media executives to raise funds for scholarships and awards.

The event often has a comedian joking about the president, who traditionally gets his own back with some jokes, though no comedian was booked this year.