Saturday’s White House annual press dinner was supposed to be a peaceful event but a major tragedy was averted after a 31-year-old man tried to barrage into the venue by crossing a security checkpoint, firing multiple shots. The shooter was, though, immediately subdued by the law enforcement agencies but President Donald Trump and his cabinet was forced to get evacuated from the event that caused panic among the attendees.ย
Trump later addressed a short press conference immediately after the incident in which he thanked the Secret Service and law enforcement agencies for their quick action in bringing the situation under control. Trump said he suspects that the shooter was a “would-be assassin” and likely acted as a “lone wolf”; though security agencies said an investigation in this regard is currently underway.
“A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of the Secret Service,” the 79-year-old Republican leader said at White House. “They seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I feel that too.”
The Washington Hilton Hotel and the attack on Ronald Reagan
Saturday’s incident happened at the Washington Hilton Hotel, which is a luxury hotel in the US capital. Coincidently, this is the same place where an assassination attempt was made on former US President Ronald Reagan over 40 years ago.
It was March 30, 1981, when Reagan, another Republican president like Trump, was on his way to exit the hotel, and suddenly a person fired around six shots at him using his .22-caliber revolver. The accused was identified as John Hinckley Jr.ย
One of the shots hit Reagan and even punctured his lung, leaving him seriously injured. The incident forced Reagan to undergo an emergency exploratory surgery at George Washington University Hospital and spend 12 days there. He was released on April 11. Coming to Hinckley, he was found not guilty by reason of insanity on charges of attempting to assassinate Reagan.
Who was Saturday’s shooter?
As per a report by The Associated Press, the shooter has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen of California’s Torrance. He is facing two firearm-related charges, including a count of assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel, who was present with Trump at the media briefing, said the agency is examining a long gun and shell casings recovered from the scene. Witnesses, he said, are also being examined to find more about the shooter.ย
“We are conducting witness interviews as we speak. You will hear from our team on the scene there with the Mayor and the Head of the FBI Field Division there,” he said. “We will also conduct interviews with those who were there and if any of those individuals have information, please come forward.”
ALSO READ – White House press dinner turns chaotic: Who was the shooter and was he linked to Iran?