A shooting occurred on the evening of April 25th during a Correspondents Dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington D.C. It has been confirmed that there were no deaths and the shooter was identified to be 31 year old Cole Tomas Allen.

President Trump was to speak at the Correspondents’ Association dinner at the hotel. The dinner is an annual event which is attended by The President, other U.S. leaders, and journalists who write about the White House celebrate the First Amendment in the United States Constitution that guarantees the freedom of speech as well as the press, and raise money for journalism scholarships. However, the dinner was interrupted by the sound of gunfire. Secret Service agents quickly rushed President Trump out of the room and out of the hotel. While no one was killed in the shooting, according to the article published in the Los Angeles Times, “A federal agent was hit in the chest in the exchange of gunfire but was wearing a bullet-proof vest and not seriously injured”(Quinton, Castillo Apr 26). The Hilton Hotel is no stranger to assassination attempts. In 1981 John Hinckley Jr would go on to try to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, but would be unsuccessful. Even after the shooting President Trump wanted to continue the dinner but the Secret service prohibited the idea.

The President as well as all US federal officials have been declared safe. An hour after Trump was rushed from the event, he posted on his Truth Social platform that the shooter had been arrested.

The shooter would later be identified as 31 year old Cole Tomas Allen. In an article posted on  Al Jazeera, Washington Police Chief Jeffery Carroll would tell reporters “the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives”(Shankar and Reuters Apr 26). Carroll also mentioned Allen was taken to the hospital to be evaluated, His motive was to target and kill President trump and members of his administration citing  anti-Trump and anti-Christian rhetoric found on his social media and based on preliminary information,Allen was believed to have been a guest at the hotel. He was charged with attempted assassination of the president, assaulting a federal officer, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and is currently being held without bail.