Donald Trump says attack by ‘lone wolf whack job’ has resulted in 'very beautiful' unity

LAST UPDATE | 1 hr ago

A GUNMAN ARMED with “multiple weapons” who tried to charge a Washington dinner attended by Donald Trump was “a lone wolf whack job”, according to the US president.

The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was thrown into chaos by the attack on Saturday night and saw the American leader, who has been the previous target of an assassination attempt, swiftly evacuated by secret service agents along with other senior members of the administration.

One officer, who was shot but protected by his bulletproof vest, was taken to hospital.

The suspect, said to have been carrying a shotgun and handgun, has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California.

The accused gunman who tried to storm the ballroom dinner with guns and knives travelled across the country before the event and is believed to have been targeting members of the Trump administration, officials said.

Acting US attorney general Todd Blanche said it is believed the suspect travelled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington, where he checked in as a guest to the Washington Hilton hotel where the glitzy event was being held.

Law enforcement officials who have examined the gunman’s electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner.

The gunman attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom but was tackled to the ground in a chaotic scene that resulted in shots being fired, Trump being rushed off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.

The suspect is believed to have purchased the firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He added that the suspect is not being co-operative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.

“It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC’s Meet The Press.

Speaking at the White House two hours after the incident, Trump said: “When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone. They seem to think he was a lone wolf.”

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The president posted pictures on his Truth Social platform of the alleged assailant handcuffed on the ground following his detention, along with security footage from the hotel.

Trump vowed to reschedule the disrupted event at a late-night press conference following the shooting, which he said had “unified” political opponents and the media.

He was attending the annual dinner for the first time as president.

Trump said: “My impression is he was a lone wolf whack job. These are crazy people.”

The president praised the secret service and said the gunman was not close to breaching the ballroom where he sat on stage at the time of the incident.

He added: “I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was, in one way, very beautiful, a very beautiful thing.

“To see a man charge a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of secret service, and they acted very quickly.”

He added: “It is always shocking when something like this happens.”

Washington mayor Muriel Bowser said she had “no reason” to believe anyone else was involved.

The armed assault comes just days before the state visit by the UK’s King Charles, where he is due to meet Trump and attend a White House banquet.

The Washington Hilton has been the location of a previous attempted presidential assassination when then president Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr outside the hotel in 1981.

It led to security being ramped up at the property.