White House press dinner turns chaotic: Who was the shooter and was he linked to Iran?
White House press dinner scare: As per a report, the shooter was a hotel guest who has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Allen, who hails from Torrance California. He was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and knives.
Chaos broke during the annual White House press dinner at the Hilton Hotel in Washington on late Saturday night after a shooter tried to cross the security checkpoint at the venue and fired multiple shots, triggering panic among the people. The incident forced officials to evacuate President Donald Trump and his deputy JD Vance; though they escaped unhurt.
The shooter was subdued immediately and brought under control, with Trump saying that the accused looked "pretty evil". According to CBS News, the shooter has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Allen, who hails from Torrance California. Authorities, though, are yet to confirm this but they have said that the accused acted alone, and was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and knives.
Other reports also described him as a graduate of the California Institute of Technology. Some said he is a mechanical engineer and a computer scientist, who completed his Master's degree in Computer Science from the California State University-Dominguez Hills. More reports have indicated that he was a hotel guest.
An Iran connection?
Many also tried to link the shooter with Iran, but the 79-year-old Republican leader said that the incident is unlikely linked to the ongoing conflict with the Middle East nation, as officials keep working to find out his motive.
"It's not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don't know if that had anything to do with it, I really don't think so, based on what we know," Trump told reporters in a brief press conference, which he addressed shortly after the incident.
Trump releases video, shares photo
Meanwhile, Trump has shared a video of the shooter barging towards the venue, as he continued to fire shots. The video showed the shooter being brought under control by the law enforcement agencies.
In another post on his Truth Social account, he also shared a photo that showed the shooter lying on the ground after being detained by the authorities, with his hands tied behind his back. Trump later thanked the authorities for their prompt response but noted that the security of the venue needs to be enhanced.
"Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely. The shooter has been apprehended," Trump said in one of his social media posts.