It was meant to be a milestone evening. On Saturday night, President Donald Trump attended the White House Correspondents' Dinner for the first time as a sitting president, taking his seat at the head table inside the Washington Hilton's ballroom alongside First Lady Melania Trump and senior administration officials. Within minutes, the night unravelled.
The Washington Metropolitan Police Department said a suspect charged a security checkpoint at 8.36 pm carrying a 'shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.' Trump, seated at the head table on the stage, was swiftly surrounded and escorted off by Secret Service agents. Armed guards in tactical gear appeared on the dais. Many of the roughly 2,600 attendees abandoned their burrata salads to take cover under tables.
