‘Preliminary findings’ suggest suspect was ‘likely’ targeting Trump administration officials, says acting US attorney general
The acting US attorney general, Todd Blanche, has said that “preliminary findings” suggest that the alleged White House correspondents’ dinner shooter was targeting Donald Trump and officials in his administration.
Blanche told NBC News’ Meet the Press:
We’re still investigating a motive, and that’s something that will necessarily take a couple of days at least. We believe he was targeting administration officials in this attack, attempted attack, but that’s again, quite preliminary.
Those officials “likely” include the US president, Blanche added, “but I want to wait and not get ahead of us on that.”
Blanche went on to say that he does not believe that the suspect is cooperating with the investigation.
He will be charged in federal court tomorrow with assault of a federal officer, discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer, Blanche said, adding he did not know if there was an Iran connection to the attack.
Investigators believe the suspect travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then Chicago to Washington DC by train, before checking into the hotel where the dinner was held, Blanche added.
He said investigators were looking into reports that the suspect had assembled the weapon somewhere in the hotel, but that he “didn’t get very far”.
He barely broke the perimeter. And by barely, I mean by a few feet.
Key events
US Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi has confirmed that the officer who sustained injuries in last night’s attack had been released from hospital.
The BBC carries this statement:
I can confirm the officer has been discharged, and the ballistic vest helped us avoid a potential tragedy last night.
The defendant is now before a federal court, and comments at this stage will come from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
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.
‘Preliminary findings’ suggest suspect was ‘likely’ targeting Trump administration officials, says acting US attorney general
The acting US attorney general, Todd Blanche, has said that “preliminary findings” suggest that the alleged White House correspondents’ dinner shooter was targeting Donald Trump and officials in his administration.
Blanche told NBC News’ Meet the Press:
We’re still investigating a motive, and that’s something that will necessarily take a couple of days at least. We believe he was targeting administration officials in this attack, attempted attack, but that’s again, quite preliminary.
Those officials “likely” include the US president, Blanche added, “but I want to wait and not get ahead of us on that.”
Blanche went on to say that he does not believe that the suspect is cooperating with the investigation.
He will be charged in federal court tomorrow with assault of a federal officer, discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer, Blanche said, adding he did not know if there was an Iran connection to the attack.
Investigators believe the suspect travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then Chicago to Washington DC by train, before checking into the hotel where the dinner was held, Blanche added.
He said investigators were looking into reports that the suspect had assembled the weapon somewhere in the hotel, but that he “didn’t get very far”.
He barely broke the perimeter. And by barely, I mean by a few feet.
Discussions taking place on security planning for King Charles’s US state visit, Buckingham Palace says
King Charles is being kept fully informed of developments and is greatly relieved to hear that Donald Trump and the first lady have been unharmed, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said today.
Charles and Queen Camilla are due to travel to Washington for a four-day state visit beginning tomorrow, and are set to meet Trump at the White House.
Following the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson told Reuters that a number of discussions were taking place today on how the shooting may or may not affect any operational planning for the visit.
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the British prime minister, said the US and UK were “working closely to ensure that security arrangements are put appropriately in place” for the visit.
Asked on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips on Sky News if there were any extra concerns for the king’s safety, Jones said:
As you would imagine, the [UK] 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.
Jones told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that discussions about the king’s security during his visit to the US would take place on Sunday.
Asked if that meant the existing plans would be stepped up, he said: “There’ll be appropriate security in place in relation to the risk.”
Here’s my colleague Robyn Vinter’s report:
Here is a quick clip that Donald Trump posted on Truth Social of what appears to be surveillance footage of the purported shooting incident at the White House correspondents’ dinner.
Here are some images coming in over the wires showing investigators and members of the media converging on the home of the suspected gunman in California:
At the White House correspondents’ dinner, darkness came viscerally close
David Smith
Shocking. Unnerving. Unpredictable. Violent. For a decade I have been following the twists and turns of Donald Trump’s America with the privilege of journalistic distance. On Saturday night I felt the darkness come viscerally close.
Bang! Bang! What was that? Where was it? At 8.36pm panic and pandemonium reigned in the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton hotel. There were men running and cries of “Get down!” and “Stay down!”
I saw guests at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s (WHCA) annual dinner – men in tuxedos, women in dresses – diving under the circular tables and, almost as if acting on a cue, did likewise. It was a scene from a dozen Hollywood movies but now it was happening to me, right here, right now.
Here’s what we know so far about the suspect:
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The Associated Press, citing two law enforcement officials, have identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California.
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He appeared to have been a “lone” gunman, said Jeff Carroll, the interim chief of police of the Metropolitan police department, and was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives when he allegedly “charged a US Secret Service checkpoint” at the Washington Hilton.
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We have no reason to believe at this time that anyone else was involved,” said Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser. The suspect was taken to a local hospital where he was being “evaluated”, she said.
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The suspect has been charged with felony firearms and assault charges, said Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia.
Aftermath of shooting incident at White House correspondents’ dinner
Hello and welcome to our continuing live updates on US politics.
A suspect is in custody following a shooting incident at last night’s White House correspondents’ dinner.
Donald Trump and and wife Melania Trump were rushed out of the event at the Washington Hilton, the hotel where former president Ronald Reagan was shot in an attempted assassination in 1981.
Hundreds of guests, dressed in their black-tie best, hid under tables as US Secret Service agents with guns drawn rushed reporters out of the room and mentioned “shots fired”.
The suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, the Associated Press reported, citing two law enforcement officials. Trump posted on Truth Social two photos of the purported suspect, shirtless and facedown on the ground.
At a briefing in the press room not long after the event, Trump described the Washington Hilton as “not a particularly secure building” and argued for the merits of the construction of a ballroom at the White House. “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.”
Trump posted on Truth Social that he hoped to reschedule the dinner in the next 30 days.
Stay tuned for more.