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A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside a high-profile journalists’ dinner attended by President Donald Trump, his wife Melania and multiple senior U.S. leaders on Saturday night, April 25, 2026, rushing toward the ballroom before Secret Service agents swarmed him and took him into custody. The president and his wife were uninjured and were hustled away.

Guests went diving under tables as the scene unfolded and some reported hearing shots outside the vast subterranean ballroom in the Washington Hilton where the event was being held.

One law enforcement official said a gunman had opened fire. A law enforcement officer was shot in the bullet-resistant vest but is expected to be OK, several sources told The Associated Press.

The shooting suspect — described by Trump as a “sick person” — was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, two law enforcement officials told the AP.

“When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” Trump, safe and uninjured and still in his tuxedo, said at the White House two hours later. “They seem to think he was a lone wolf.”

There was no immediate indication of any other involvement, and Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser said she had ”no reason” to believe anyone else was involved. Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him.

“There does not appear to be any sort of danger to the public at this time,” Bowser said at a separate news conference.

All officials protected by the Secret Service were evacuated. Those in attendance included Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — and many other leaders of the Trump administration on a night when the nation is at war with Iran.

It was the third time since 2024 that the president had been under threat by an attacker in his immediate vicinity — including the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, that injured him and killed a local firefighter.

“Today we need levels of security that probably nobody has ever seen before,” the president said. But he also said, “We’re not going to let anybody take over our society.”

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US President Donald Trump said Saturday a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner would not deter him from the Iran war, although he believed the incident was unlikely linked to the conflict.

“It’s not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, I really don’t think so, based on what we know,” Trump told reporters in a briefing at the White House after the shocking security incident.

Trump had earlier said, however, that “you never know” if it could be linked to the Iran war, and said investigators were working on the motive of the shooter whom he described as a “lone wolf.”

The US leader earlier Saturday canceled his envoys’ trip to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran, after being unimpressed with Tehran’s negotiating position following nearly two months of war.

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Ahead of the 2027 general elections, political momentum appears to be building within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Borno State, as party leaders and stakeholders have openly declared support for the re-election bid of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.

The endorsement, which took place during a stakeholders’ meeting at the Government House in Maiduguri, signals an early consolidation of party loyalty in the North-East, even as broader national political alignments continue to evolve.

Presiding over the gathering, the APC National Vice Chairman (North), Ali Bukar Dalori, formally tabled the motion for adoption of the joint ticket, putting it to a voice vote.

He said, “Let me also put the motion to a voice vote. Those in support of the joint ticket of Tinubu/Kashim should say ‘Aye’,” drawing a resounding chorus of approval from attendees, saying that the “Ayes have it”.

Despite the early endorsement, speakers at the meeting stressed the importance of cohesion within party ranks. Borno State Governor Babagana Umara Zulum urged members to sustain unity and avoid divisive tendencies as political activities gather pace.

He said, “Power is something that God gives to whom he wishes. No matter how much you dislike a person, if God gives it to him, he will get it.”

The governor further called on party faithful to remain aligned with democratic principles while intensifying grassroots mobilization ahead of the polls.

“Already the party chairman made this appeal and reemphasized our commitment to work for the success of the Tinubu/Kashim joint ticket in the 2027 general election,” he said.

Adding to the narrative of growing support, the state APC chairman, Bello Ayuba, pointed to ongoing political realignments, attributing them to governance efforts within the state.

“As I’m talking to you now, a large number of decampees from other political parties are waiting to be formally accepted into the APC,” he added.

The development underscores a strategic push by the party in Borno to strengthen its base, even as the national political landscape gradually tilts toward the next electoral cycle.