US Vice President JD Vance has given a detailed account of the chaotic moments inside the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner after a suspected armed man allegedly attempted to breach security and target President Donald Trump.
Speaking in an interview on The Will Cain Show on Wednesday, Vance said that he initially did not understand what was happening inside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton hotel during Saturday’s high-profile event.
"I really didn't know what was going on," he told Fox News host Will Cain.
"Just to give you my perspective, I'm sitting up there on the dais with some journalists and obviously with the president of the United States, a few seats to my right, and there's a lot of commotion," Vance said.
He added that he began hearing loud and unclear noises while seated alongside senior guests at the event.
"Then I see people kind of ducking under tables and responding to commotion in the back of the ballroom," he said.
Vance said the situation escalated quickly before a security officer approached him directly.
"Then an agent comes and whispers in my ear. [He] basically says, 'Sir, we have to leave,'" he recounted.
The Vice President, along with President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, were quickly evacuated from the ballroom after the suspected gunman allegedly tried to rush a Secret Service checkpoint at the venue. The suspect was identified as Cole Allen.
A Secret Service officer was injured and taken to hospital after being struck in a bullet-resistant vest during the confrontation. Security personnel later detained the suspect, preventing him from entering the main event area.
