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Lawmakers and journalists were in shock after a Washington media tradition turned violent on Saturday night, halting the White House correspondents’ dinner while the first course of burrata and greens sat on their plates.

“We thought that some of the plates for the dinner fell, and next thing you know, we all went under the table screaming,” said Jamie Raskin, a Maryland congressman who was among the 2,000 attendees gathered to celebrate press freedom. It was the first time that Donald Trump chose to attend the annual Washington event.

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer said that he was “a few feet away” from the shooter.

“The first thing that went through my mind: is he trying to shoot me?” Blitzer said in a CNN interview. “I don’t think he was trying to shoot me, but I was very close to him as the gunshots were fired and he was very, very scary. But I’m OK, now.”

Kerry Kennedy, a lawyer and human rights activist, said in a post that Raskin had whispered “you’re OK, you’re OK, you’re OK” to her from beneath their table.

Another guest estimated that he waited about five to 10 minutes under the table before Secret Service corralled the black tie attendees out of the dinner hall.

Trump and the first lady left the venue uninjured just before 10pm. The president gave a press briefing at the White House, and said that the event would be rescheduled in 30 days.

“Please get on your knees and pray for President Trump and for our country right now,” said Representative Nancy Mace on X amid mixed reports from the ballroom. “We are hearing reports the shooter has been apprehended,” she said.

Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said that an individual was in custody following Saturday’s event but did not release additional details about the suspect.

“It is a bit surprising because this is supposed to be the most secure place in Washington DC with cabinet members, president, vice-president, everybody here,” said Marcin Wrona, US correspondent for TVN Poland, who was attending the dinner. “Yes, we had attempts on President Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania, in Florida. Am I very surprised? Unfortunately not.”

Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic House speaker, commended the Secret Service and local law enforcement for their swift action to secure the scene in the aftermath of Saturday’s shooting.

But other conservative guests and commentators quickly cast blame on media responsible for organizing the White House correspondents dinner.

Political commentator Debra Lea recorded a vlog from outside the Hilton, criticizing the precautions taken for such a high profile event. “There were no pat-downs, no metal detectors, nothing going on,” she said.

Kari Lake, another conservative media figure and former TV anchor, derided the security as “lax”, saying that no one asked for her ticket or a photo id at the door.

“When you consider you are entering a roomful of fake news media —90% of whom hate the President you would think they would have better security,” she said on X.

Laura Loomer, a rightwing influencer who did not attend the White House correspondents’ dinner, told guests to leave. “It’s not worth letting someone kill Trump in front of the media. The media would enjoy that too much.”

Trump used the discussion of the Hilton’s security as an opportunity to highlight the merits of his new ballroom during an impromptu press conference. The president survived an assassination attempt at a political rally in July 2024.

“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 much more secure … They’ve wanted the ballroom for 150 years for lots of different reasons. But today’s a little bit different, because today we need levels of security that probably nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump said.

Trump closed his press conference by assuring reporters, many dressed in tuxedos and gowns, that their gala would be rescheduled. “It was a little different evening than we thought. But we’re going to do it again.”