Main points
- US president Donald Trump was rushed from the White House correspondents annual gala dinner after at least half a dozen shots were fired inside the Hilton Hotel on Saturday night
- It was confirmed that a single gunman was subdued and taken into custody by Secret Service afterwards
- The suspect, said to have been carrying a shotgun and handgun, has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California
- Meanwhile, hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the US-Israeli war with Iran receded on Sunday morning
Key reads
- Donald Trump rushed from White House Correspondents’ Dinner after gunman fires shots
- Who is Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting?
- Timeline: How the shooting at the the White House Correspondents’ Dinner unfolded
Washington shooting suspect called himself ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’
Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, called himself a “Friendly Federal Assassin” and created a list of targets for the shooting, according to a report from the New York Post.
A message Allen sent to family members shortly before the shooting, obtained by the Post, begins with apologies to those who knew the suspect and lists his motives for the shooting. It said the shooter targeted administration officials with the exception of FBI director Kash Patel. “I am a citizen of the United States of America,” it said. “What my representatives do reflects on me. And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
The message also describes security at the event as being weak. “Like, the one thing that I immediately noticed walking into the hotel is the sense of arrogance… The security at the event is all outside, focused on protestors and current arrivals, because apparently no one thought about what happens if someone checks in the day before,” it reads. - Guardian
Britain’s King Charles visit will go ahead says Trump
Trump also confirmed to Fox News that King Charles’s visit to the US will continue as planned. “He’s a great guy and we look forward to it. He’s really a fantastic person and a tremendous representative, and he’s brave,” Trump said. “We’re going to have a great time and he represents his nation like nobody else can do it.” - Guardian
Iran can call US if it wants to end war - Trump
US president Donald Trump said on Sunday that Iran can reach out to the US if it wants to negotiate an end to the war between the two countries.
“If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us. You know, there is a telephone. We have nice, secure lines,” Trump said in an interview on Fox News show The Sunday Briefing.
Trump cancelled a trip by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan on Saturday, dealing a new setback to peace prospects after Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi departed Islamabad after speaking only to Pakistani officials.
Araghchi has since returned to Pakistan despite the absence of U.S. counterparts. - Reuters
Trump says shooting suspect didn’t come close to ballroom
US president Donald Trump said in an interview on Fox News that the suspected gunman at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was stopped by law enforcement and didn’t come close to entering the ballroom where the event was taking place - Reuters
Officer ‘saved’ by bulletproof vest has been released from hospital
US Secret Service officer shot while responding to the incident in the Washington Hilton on Saturday night has been released from hospital.
A spokesperson for the Secret Service, Anthony Guglielmi, said the officer had been released from a hospital.
US president Donald Trump had previously said the officer was saved by his bulletproof vest and was in “good shape” despite being shot.
“I can confirm the officer has been discharged and the ballistic vest helped us avoid a potential tragedy last night.”
The Secret Service is now conducting a “comprehensive review of the defendant’s background and networks to better understand his motivations, leaving no detail unexamined”, he added.
Notes written by Washington suspect found in hotel room to be examined
The suspect’s writings, reportedly found inside his hotel room, are being examined as part of the investigation into the attack, according to US station CBS News.
Sources told the network the writings “clearly stated” he wanted to target administration officials. - The Guardian
Lebanese killed by Israeli strikes tops 2,500 - health ministry
The number of people in Lebanon killed by Israeli strikes since March 2nd has surpassed 2,500 people, the Lebanese Health Ministry has said in a statement.
Separately, Unifil has paid tribute to the “dedication and sacrifice” of one of its peacekeepers who died on Friday from injuries sustained in a projectile explosion at his base last month.
Unifil’s head of mission and force commander, major general Diodato Abagnara, honoured the life and service of corporal Rico Pramudia, 31, from Indonesia at a ceremony in Beirut.
Pramudia is the fourth Indonesian peacekeeper to have been killed in south Lebanon in less than a month.
UK and US leaders discuss ‘urgent need’ to restore Hormuz shipping
UK prime minister Keir Starmer and US president Donald Trump discussed the importance of getting shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz during a call on Sunday, a Downing Street spokesperson said.
“The leaders discussed the urgent need to get shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz, given the severe consequences for the global economy and cost of living for people in the UK and globally,” the spokesperson for Starmer’s office said in a statement.
“The prime minister shared the latest progress on his joint initiative with President (Emmanuel) Macron to restore freedom of navigation,” the spokesperson added. - Reuters
Suspect could be charged with attempted Trump assassination
The suspected gunman who tried to breach the ballroom at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington DC on Saturday night could be charged with trying to assassinate Donald Trump.
Asked by CNN on Sunday morning if the suspect could be charged with trying to assassinate the US president, acting US attorney general Todd Blanche replied: “Absolutely.”
Earlier in the day, he said the 31-year-old man – who had rushed towards the ballroom where the event was being held but was stopped – was believed to have been targeting top officials of the Trump administration who were at the dinner.
Trump, Melania Trump and JD Vance were on the high table at the head of the large ballroom at the Washington Hilton hotel on Saturday night as the event was getting under way, which was packed with thousands of journalists and their guests. - The Guardian
Washington shooting ‘very serious and shocking’, Taoiseach says
Taoiseach Micheál Martin had described the shooting near a White House-media gala event in Washington DC on Saturday night as “very serious and shocking” - reports Olivia Kelleher in Cork.
Speaking at a Chernobyl anniversary commemoration in Cork city today, Martin insisted there can be “absolutely no place for violence in politics”.
“Our thoughts are with the police officer, the agent who was injured, and indeed with all those impacted by such an event.
“There is no excuse for the use of the gun in politics and we have seen far too great a frequency and occurrences of political violence across the world and in the United States as well.
“We have to be extremely conscious and vigilant about the proliferation of gun culture as well but it’s quite shocking to see events of this kind unfold.”
He said it was “reprehensible and outrageous and shocking” that the US president Donald Trump – who was present at the event – had been subjected to repeated attempts on his life.
Martin suggested there is a need to be “conscious of our language in public life and demonising others”.
Martin added that we need to be very clear in our condemnation of political violence particularly with an increase of incidences worldwide.
“I am reading the New York Times and other newspaper accounts this morning and you can see pictorial evidence, the shock on many faces as they were attending what was meant to be an enjoyable and important event in the normal discourse about politics in the US.”
British king being kept ‘fully informed’ ahead of US state visit
Britain’s King Charles - set to make a state visit to the US on Monday - is being “kept fully informed of developments” following the Washington shooting.
The UK head of state is said to be “greatly relieved” that nobody was harmed in the incident, Buckingham Palace has said.
Charles, who travels to the US with Camilla, is being “kept fully informed of developments” after the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was thrown into chaos by the attack on Saturday night (US time).
Video footage shows the US president stumbling as he was bundled from the room by secret service agents who also grabbed vice-president JD Vance by the shoulders and escorted him to safety.
Buckingham Palace is said to have reached out privately to the White House to express their sympathies.
Alleged Washington shooter thought to be targeting administration
US law enforcement believes that the alleged White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter was targeting Trump administration officials.
“It does appear that he did, in fact, have set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president,” the acting US attorney general Todd Blanche said on Sunday.
Speaking on NBC News, Blanche added the suspect likely travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington.
The suspect will be formally charged in federal court on Monday with assault of a federal officer and discharging a firearm in an attempt to kill a federal officer, Blanche said.
Blanche said the suspect was not cooperating with investigators as of Sunday morning.- Reuters
Von der Leyen expresses solidarity with Trump
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday that she spoke with Donald Trump to express solidarity after a man opened fire on security personnel near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
“We underlined that political violence has no place in our democracies,” von der Leyen wrote in a post on social media platform X. - Reuters
‘I’m sure some people were terrified’: Former RTÉ anchor recalls having to take cover
Irish journalist Caitríona Perry, chief presenter for BBC News in Washington, has recalled having to take cover under a table after gunshots were heard during the White House correspondents’ dinner - reports Jack White.
“We heard a commotion outside, loud noises and the doors burst open. There was a kerfuffle of breaking glass and crockery and tables being knocked over,” she said.
Perry recalled secret service agents rushing up the middle aisle with guns drawn, shouting: “Everyone take cover.”
“Everybody jumped under the tables in the dining room and the agents kept running towards the podium.
“As you can expect in a room full of journalists, we all had our heads under the table and our hands above with our phones out, recording what was going on,” Perry told RTÉ Radio 1’s Brendan O’Connor show.
“I’m sure some people were terrified because it’s not what you’d expect when you’re in your finery,” she said, though attendees “were mostly calm” as the gunshots were muffled, having been fired outside the dining room.
Recalling hearing further gunshots after agents entered the room, Perry said it was unclear how orchestrated the attack was at the time, how many were involved or whether a gunman was inside the room.
Those attending the event were “locked in the room for another period of time”, she said, until the dinner was cancelled as it was deemed an “active crime scene”.
Noting that the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, was a guest in the Hilton Hotel, the former RTÉ anchor said this “added an extra layer to the concern that people had, that this had gotten to that point at an event which had so many members of the [Trump] administration at it”.
Trump was set to make ‘most inappropriate speech ever’ at gala
US president Donald Trump said he was going to make what he called the “most inappropriate speech ever made,” with some disappointment that the event was cut short by the gunman.
Trump is reported to have sought for the event to resume, and later vowed the dinner would be rescheduled for some time in the next 30 days.
His speech, however, may be rewritten, he said.
“I don’t know if I can ever be as rough as I was going to be tonight. I think I’m going to be probably very nice. I’ll be very boring the next time, but we’re going to have a great event.” - Additional reporting, NYT
Israel to force evacuation of Lebanese towns
Israel’s military issued an evacuation warning to residents of seven Lebanese towns north of Litani river.
The development comes during a ceasefire between the two countries, with the Israeli Defence Forces saying it would act forcefully against Hizbullah over ceasefire violations. - Reuters
Political violence has no place in democracy, Harris says
Tánaiste Simon Harris said that “political violence has no place in a democracy” following the shooting in Washington, reports Political Correspondent Ellen Coyne.
“My thoughts are with President Trump, the First Lady, and Vice President Vance and all those affected by last night’s events. I am relieved that no one was hurt,” the Wicklow TD said in a post on X on Sunday.
Political violence has no place in a democracy.
— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) April 26, 2026
My thoughts are with President Trump, the First Lady, and Vice President Vance and all those affected by last night's events. I am relieved that no one was hurt.
Shooting won’t ‘deter’ Trump from Iran war
Donald Trump said the shooting at the White House press dinner would not deter him from the Iran war, although he believed the incident was unlikely linked to the conflict.
“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 at the White House after the incident.
But Trump had earlier said that “you never know” if it could be linked to the Iran war, and said investigators were working on the motive of the shooter who he described as a “lone wolf”.
Earlier, president Trump said the US Navy is clearing mines from the Strait of Hormuz.
The vital sea route for Gulf oil is closed to most ships, putting a strain on the global economy, but experts say sweeping for underwater explosives could take months regardless of any ceasefire.
Any future claims that the US cleared the waterway – where 20 per cent of the world’s oil typically passes – might fail to convince commercial freighters and their insurers that it’s finally safe. - Agencies
British King’s security for US trip being taken ‘very seriously’
The security of Britain’s King Charles during his US state visit this week is being taken “very seriously” after a gunman tried to charge a Washington gala dinner attended by Donald Trump, according to a senior UK government figure.
UK prime minister Keir Starmer has sent a message of solidarity to Trump after the incident, chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News.
He said: “These are remarkable scenes. The prime minister has, this morning, sent a message to the president of the US in solidarity for the events that took place.
“As you would imagine, with the visit of his majesty the king this week, our teams are working closely to ensure that security arrangements are put appropriately in place.”
Asked if there are any extra concerns for the king’s safety during the state visit that begins on Monday, Jones said: “As you would imagine, the Government and the Palace take the security of his majesty very seriously, and there were already extensive discussions taking place, which will continue over the coming days.”
Starmer said he was “shocked” by the incident overnight: “Any attack on democratic institutions or on the freedom of the press must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
He said it was a “huge relief” that the president and first lady were both safe.
The armed assault comes just days before the state visit by the king and queen, where they are due to meet Trump and attend a White House banquet.
When asked about the incident and any impact on the trip, Buckingham Palace said it does not comment on security matters. - PA
Bulletproof vest ‘saved’ officer shot in incident
The officer shot while responding to the gunman rushing a Secret Service checkpoint in the hotel lobby was saved by his bulletproof vest, according to the White House.
The officer was “saved by the fact that he was wearing an obviously very good bulletproof vest”, Trump said in a press conference following the incident.
The US president praised the law enforcement response, and said he would have preferred to return to the ballroom to give his speech but said the gala would be rescheduled “within 30 days”.
Trump said the Secret Service did a better job than the assassination attempt in Butler, noting of the suspect: “He was fast.”
“He charged from 50 yards away, so he was very far away from the room. He was moving. He was really moving.”
World leaders condemned an act of “political violence” and expressed relief that Trump, officials and journalists were unharmed. - Agencies
Washington Hilton hotel ‘not particularly secure building’
The security of the Washington Hilton Hotel was called into question by Donald Trump in the aftermath of the security breach near an event he was attending in the hotel.
“It’s not a particularly secure building,” he said of the Hilton, before launching into a pitch for the necessity of his planned ballroom. “It’s bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom.”
“I didn’t want to say this,” he said, “but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House. It’s actually a larger room, and it’s a much more secure.”
Trump said the legally challenged building would be drone proof with bulletproof glass.
He said the incident underscored why he wanted to build a $400 million (€341 million) ballroom on White House grounds that he said would be equipped with the latest security features. That project is currently subject to litigation. - Reuters, NYT
Trump says he initially thought shots fired near event was tray falling
Donald Trump said on Saturday night he initially thought that the sound of a gunman charging a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was a tray falling, in his first remarks about what was going through his mind as the incident unfolded.
“Actually, it was totally shocking to me, and that never changes,” Trump said, appearing to refer to the assassination attempt against him at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, and a second incident on his golf course in Florida during the 2024 presidential campaign.
“I heard a noise, and sort of thought it was a tray. I thought it was a tray going down many times,” he said. “There was a gun and some people really understood that quite quickly. Other people didn’t. I was watching to see what was happening, probably should have gotten down a little faster.
“Melania was very cognizant, I think, of what happened,” Trump said of his wife, who has been among the members of his family most concerned about security even before Trump faced assassination attempts. “I think she knew immediately. She was saying: ‘It’s a bad noise’.”
The US president’s description of his reaction to the episode came at a hastily arranged news conference in the briefing room at the White House, where he had been rushed back by motorcade ahead of a number of other senior cabinet officials who had attended the dinner. - The Guardian
Who is the suspect in the shooting?
The suspect arrested in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting on Saturday was identified by a law enforcement official as Cole Tomas Allen.
A Los Angeles-area man, Allen appears from social media sites to be a Caltech graduate working as a part-time teacher and game developer.
The chief of the District of Columbia police department said investigators believe the suspect was a guest at the Washington Hilton hotel, where the annual dinner was taking place, but that no motive had been determined.
Read more about what is known of the suspect here:
Gunman at White House event was ‘lone wolf whack job’, Trump says
A gunman armed with “multiple weapons” who tried to charge a Washington dinner attended by Donald Trump was “a lone wolf whack job”, according to the US president.
The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was thrown into chaos by the attack on Saturday night and saw the American leader, who has been the previous target of an assassination attempt, swiftly evacuated by secret service agents along with other senior members of the administration.
One officer, who was shot but protected by his bulletproof vest, was taken to hospital.
The suspect, said to have been carrying a shotgun and handgun, has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California.
He is understood to have been a guest in the Washington Hilton hotel where the event was being held and faces charges including assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon, but acting attorney general Todd Blanche said additional charges will be filed.
Trump, who was attending the annual dinner for the first time as president, praised the secret service and said the gunman was not close to breaching the ballroom where he sat on stage at the time of the incident.
He added: “I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was, in one way, very beautiful, a very beautiful thing.”
Washington mayor Muriel Bowser said she had “no reason” to believe anyone else was involved.
- PA
Shots fired, suspect detained at White House event in Washington
The big news this morning is, of course, that half a dozen shots were fired inside the hotel hosting the White House correspondents annual gala dinner, at which US president Donald Trump was in attendance.
Trump was rushed from the event after the shots rang out inside the Hilton Hotel.
A single gunman was subdued and taken into custody by Secret Service afterwards, with the shots having been fired in the lobby rather than the basement-level ballroom, where ceremonies had just got underway.
Read Washington Correspondent Keith Duggan’s full breakdown of events here:
Strait of Hormuz still largely closed
Washington and Tehran are at an impasse as Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz, which normally carries one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, while the US continues to block Iran’s oil exports.
Trump says ‘we have all the cards’
After the diplomatic trip was called off, Iran “offered a lot, but not enough,” Trump said. On Truth Social, he wrote that there was “tremendous infighting and confusion” within Iran’s leadership.
“Nobody knows who is in charge, including them,” he posted. “Also, we have all the cards, they have none! If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!”
Iran peace hopes fade as Trump scraps talks
Hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the US-Israeli war with Iran receded on Sunday morning, with talks aimed at ending the two-month conflict at a standstill and both Tehran and Washington showing little willingness to soften their terms.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi left mediator Pakistan empty-handed at the weekend, and US president Donald Trump canceled a planned visit to Islamabad by his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, dealing back-to-back blows to peace prospects.
The deadlock leaves the world’s biggest economy and a major oil power locked in a confrontation that has already pushed energy prices to multi-year highs, stoked inflation and darkened global growth prospects.
