A clip of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's statement before the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington has gone viral. (Image:Reuters)

Shots will be fired: Karoline Leavitt's remark before White House shooting goes viral

After White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said there would be "shots fired" to indicate sharp political jabs, an armed man stormed the White House Press Dinner venue and opened fire. Amid the coincidence, Leavitt's clip of the unwitting "prediction" has gone viral.

by · India Today

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's "there will be some shots fired tonight" comment moments before the White House Correspondents' Association's annual dinner event has left people surprised. A clip of the statement by Leavitt has gone viral due to its timing. Because she said "some shots will be fired tonight" just moments before a shooter attacked the venue of the White House press dinner.

Leavitt was speaking to Fox News. She told viewers President Trump would "bring the heat" and that there would be "shots fired". The statement of Leavitt, which was initially meant to be a metaphor for political remarks that US President Donald Trump would make at the event, has now become viral in a different context. Because, shots were actually fired.

"He is ready to rumble, I will tell you. This speech tonight will be classic Donald J Trump. It'll be funny, it'll be entertaining. There will be some shots fired tonight in the room. So everyone should tune in, it's going to be really great. I'm looking forward to hearing it," Leavitt said before the event. Clearly, she was using the phrase as political slang for sharp verbal jabs.

The interviewer then suggested that Leavitt had "written most of it," but she pushed back, saying, "I can’t take credit. In true Donald Trump fashion, he puts pen to paper, it’s largely in his own words."

As the Leavitt clip went viral, conspiracy theories started doing the rounds. "Listen closely to Karoline Leavitt. She predicted the shooting right before it happened. How did she know??" posted a handle on X.

There was also chatter regarding whether the shooting at the event was done deliberately to gain political leverage. "Karoline Leavitt calls on everyone to watch tonight because Donald Trump will bring the heat, and there will be shots fired. Was it pre-planned to get political mileage?" a handle on X questioned.

Another handle posted a video of Fox News' broadcast after the shooting in which the reporter present at the event was recounting the incident and shared that Karoline Leavitt's husband, Nicholas Riccio, was saying how she needed to be safe. The reporter's call was abruptly disconnected, which sparked wild theories, and the handle posted, "Was this shooting a planned false flag on Trump?"

TRUMP CALLS THE WHITE HOUSE SHOOTER A "LONE WOLF"

An armed man with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside the venue of the White House press dinner attended by Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other cabinet members of the Trump administration on Saturday. The shooter was rushing towards the ballroom before US Secret Service agents swarmed him and took him into custody. According to the news agency Associated Press, Trump was uninjured, and JD Vance was the first to be removed from the room, as agents initially shielded Trump before escorting him and First Lady Melania Trump out.

This was the first time Donald Trump attended the White House Correspondents' Association's annual dinner as President. A video posted by POTUS showed the suspect running past a security barricade as Secret Service agents ran toward him.

"The gunman had opened fire," a US law enforcement official told the Associated Press. "One law enforcement officer was shot in the bullet-resistant vest but is expected to be OK," he added.

Trump held a press conference and gave details of the shooting. "The suspect appeared to be a lone attacker," said Trump. "They think he was a lone wolf actor, and I think that too," he added. Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the probe is ongoing and charges will be filed shortly, with law enforcement working on search warrants. The FBI’s counter-terrorism unit is leading the investigation.

The statement by Karoline Leavitt was meant as a rhetorical flourish but ultimately proved to be an unfortunate coincidence, even as it added to the shock surrounding the incident. The investigations regarding the shooting continue. The focus remains firmly on the security breach and the suspect behind the attack.

- Ends