At around 8:40 p.m. EDT, gunshots were fired near the main security screening area of the Washington Hilton while dinner was being served in the main ballroom.
In a televised statement at the White House a few hours later, Trump said, "A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of the Secret Service."
Authorities identified the suspect as a 30-year-old man from California who was injured and taken into custody at the scene after he was reportedly found with a shotgun and a handgun.
Trump said the alleged shooter's motivation remains unclear, but added that he was a "guy who looked pretty evil when he was down."
Saturday's shooting incident was the third assassination attempt against Trump. During his 2024 presidential campaign, he narrowly survived a shooting while delivering a speech in Pennsylvania. Two months later, a gunman was found to have been lying in wait at a golf course in Florida.
When asked by reporters why he has repeatedly been the target of assassination attempts, Trump replied that it may be because he is "impactful," comparing himself to former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated in 1865, while dismissing any relevance to the current impasse in his war in Iran.
"I've studied assassinations, and I must tell you, the most impactful people, the people who do the most, are the ones they go after," he said, describing his profession as "dangerous" and adding that attempted violence is "part of the job." He added, "And I hate to say I’m honored by that, but I've done a lot."
He also said the dinner would be rescheduled "within the next 30 days," vowing that it would be "bigger, and better, and even nicer."
The gunfire occurred despite tight security at the hotel during the dinner, which was attended by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, meanwhile, said he was "deeply shocked by the violent incident," in a post on X, formerly Twitter both in Korean and English.
"It is especially regrettable that such an incident occurred at an event meant to reaffirm the role of the press and freedom of speech," he wrote. "Political violence is a grave threat that undermines the very foundation of democracy and can never be justified under any circumstances."
Lee also said he was relieved to learn that Trump, the first lady, and all others present were safe, and expressed his "deepest sympathies to the American people."
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