Donald Trump evacuated amid shooting at White House correspondents’ dinner

US president Donald Trump had been due to address the annual White House Correspondents’ Association in a glitzy ballroom at the Washington Hilton hotel, but the gala was quickly evacuated when shots rang out shortly after the event started.

Trump was being entertained at his table, along with first lady Melania Trump and his press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when shots were heard shortly after 8:30pm, Washington time. According to Trump, the suspect “charged a security checkpoint with multiple weapons” then started running toward the ballroom where the US president was seated.

Authorities said the suspect, now identified as a teacher named Cole Tomas Allen, was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. “The individual charged a checkpoint with a firearm in his hand,” Metro Police Department Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll said at a press conference. “We know he was running in the direction of the ballroom that the president was in, as well as other cabinet members.” While the US attorney for DC, Jeanine Pirro, said it was another checkpoint right outside the ballroom that saved the people inside: “Because that checkpoint worked, there was no one who was injured [in the ballroom].”

A uniformed Secret Service agent was shot during the incident, officials say, but no other injuries were reported. Mr Carroll said the FBI was still examining evidence from the scene, including shell casings, but believed the suspect fired a shot. Police believe the man was registered as a guest at the Washington Hilton, but are still investigating the full circumstances.