by Sharon Rondeau
(Apr. 25, 2026) — 10:12 p.m. EDT – President Donald Trump will be addressing the public from the White House Brady Room following a shooting at the Washington, DC Hotel Hilton prior to the opening of the White House Correspondents dinner which Trump had planned to attend.
“A suspect fired at Secret Service personnel and is now in custody,” Axios reported at approximately 9:55 p.m.
Trump was “rushed off stage” and out of the room, CNN reported.
At 9:36 p.m., Trump posted on Truth Social that he would be speaking “in 30 minutes.”
“Law Enforcement has requested that we leave the premises, consistent with protocol, which we will do, immediately,” Trump wrote. “I will be giving a press conference in 30 minutes from the White House Press Briefing Room. The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition. We will be speaking to you in a half an hour. I have spoken with all the representatives in charge of the event, and we will be rescheduling within 30 days.”
The shooter was apprehended by the U.S. Secret Service and reportedly undergoing questioning by the FBI, Fox News reported.
Trump, his wife Melania and other administration officials were seated when the shot rang out.
“Cabinet members and congressmen” were escorted out of the ballroom, Martha McCallum reported at 10:20 p.m., as chaos erupted following the attack.
The exact unfolding of events is yet unclear, Trace Gallagher reported a minute later, leading him to conclude, “Not many people saw this.”
As the post-incident broadcast continued, an older gentleman who appeared injured was assisted out of the room by two individuals.
At 10:26, McCallum said she received a “two-minute warning” of Trump’s impending remarks.
As of this writing the perpetrator has not been identified. According to Fox’s Kevin Corke, he attempted to “rush the mags,” meaning magnetometers at the entrance to the room.
At 10:33 p.m., Trump arrived at the Brady Room podium and began to speak flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel and DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
The Secret Service agent who bore the brunt of the perpetrator’s bullet is in good condition, Trump said, having just spoken with him. He was wearing a bullet-proof vest, Trump said, and was shot at close range.
Trump called the shooter a “would-be assassin.”
“The first lady and I were taken care of very quickly,” he said, acknowledging the quick actions of law enforcement.
“The man has been captured…They’re going to his apartment. I guess he lives in California,” Trump revealed.
The dinner will be rescheduled within 30 days, he said, and will be “bigger and better” than the canceled event.
“We’re not going to let anybody take over our society…I fought like hell to stay,” but law enforcement advised against it, Trump said.
Trump called upon Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to speak, who said charges are under preparation. He complimented local and federal law enforcement and said, “Justice will be served.”
Patel revealed the shooter had a “long gun.”
“We are conducting witness interviews,” he said. “We will be examining this individual’s background.”
A video and two photos posted under Trump’s Truth Social account show, respectively, an individual flitting through a lobby area past Secret Service agents, who then fired on him, and a thin, mustached man face-down on the floor, shirtless, hands tied behind his back.