Donald Trump, first lady Melania and senior officials were quickly evacuated to safety from the annual event after several gunshots were heard outside the Washington Hilton Hotel ballroom where around 2,500 people were in attendance.

Follow live - Gunfire shots at correspondents' dinner attended by President Trump

The suspect has been identified by US authorities as 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen, from Torrance, about 15 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Officials have said he has no criminal record and was not on the radar of law enforcement.

Police have said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.

Jeffrey Carroll, interim chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department, said the suspect was involved in an altercation as he tried to get into the event.

The suspect exchanged shots with an officer who was struck but was unharmed because he was wearing a bulletproof vest.

He was "tackled to the ground" and handcuffed by law enforcement before being apprehended, Mr Carroll added.

Officials believe the suspect was acting alone, but his motive is unclear.

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Suspect's background

Sky News has verified Cole Thomas Allen's LinkedIn profile, in which he describes himself as a "mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent ‌game developer by experience, teacher by birth".

According to his profile, he secured a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and a master's degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills.

Allen's online resume suggests he worked for the last six years at C2 Education, a company which helps aspiring college students.

One post also said he was working to develop a new "top-down shooter" combat game set in outer space.

'Lone wolf whack job'

Speaking at a news conference after the incident, President Trump said he may have been the suspected gunman's target.

Earlier, Mr Trump uploaded a photo to his Truth Social platform claiming to show the alleged gunman being apprehended.

He described the suspect as a "lone wolf whack job" from California.

Police believe the suspect was a guest at the Washington Hilton Hotel where the correspondents' dinner was being held.

"We do believe he was a guest here at the hotel. We have secured a room here in the hotel, and again, we'll go through the appropriate procedures to determine what was inside there," Mr Carroll said.

US attorney Jeanine Pirro has confirmed the suspect has been charged with firearms and assault charges.

Saturday evening was the first time that Mr Trump has attended the correspondents' dinner as president.

He was the subject of two assassination ​attempts in 2024, after he left the White House in 2021 and while he ​was campaigning for re-election.

The most serious occurred while Mr Trump was campaigning at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, ​in July 2024.

Mr Trump was shot and wounded in his upper ear by a 20-year-old gunman. The gunman ⁠was shot dead by security personnel.

The site of Saturday's dinner, the Washington Hilton, was the scene of ​an attempt on the life of then president Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded by a would-be assassin outside the hotel in 1981.

Journalists took cover and Secret Service agents rushed towards the US president at the event organised by the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA).

Trump latest: Suspect in custody after shots fired at dinner

Here's a timeline of the shooting and how it unfolded:

Donald Trump was scheduled to give a keynote address at the 2026 White House correspondents' dinner at the Washington Hilton.

It is the first time he has attended this annual event, renowned for its comedy roast of the administration.

Guests dive under tables

While he was sitting on a stage in the hotel's ballroom, ahead of his speech, gunshots were heard at around 8.35pm (1.35am UK time).

Guests dropped to the floor and took cover under tables while armed officers rushed towards the US president, escorting him, his wife Melania Trump and his cabinet from the room.

There were a few chants of "USA, USA" and others shushed the cheers.

Our correspondent Mark Stone was in the room and described hearing "the bangs very clearly from my table".

Gunman 'charged checkpoint'

A gunman ‌had run through a checkpoint in the lobby of the hotel, armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives, police said.

A shotgun was fired at ‌a Secret Service agent before the alleged offender was tackled to the ground and arrested.

Reporters were later told the officer was saved ​by his bulletproof vest.

People were 'screaming and running'

In the immediate aftermath there was considerable confusion from guests inside the hotel.

Several people were seen "screaming and running out" from the hotel, according to the WHCA, and Secret Service agents were seen with guns drawn.

At one point, Republican representative Jamie Raskin said he was knocked to the ground by a Secret Service agent for his safety when shots rang out.

Guests were evacuated from the hotel and taken down the street while police secured the entire site around the Washington Hilton.

Trump: 'Shooter apprehended'

Around 9.17pm (2.17am UK time), Donald Trump made his first comments on Truth Social, confirming the "shooter has been apprehended" and praising the Secret Service and law enforcement, saying they "acted quickly and bravely".

"I have recommended that we 'Let the show go on'," he added, but in a subsequent post said the event would be rescheduled "within 30 ​days".

The US president also posted CCTV footage showing a blurry image of the suspect running through the lobby and agents running after him and drawing firearms.

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Trump: Suspect 'lone wolf whack job'

At about 10.30pm (3.20am UK time), the US president addressed reporters at a news conference at the White House, telling them he heard "a pretty loud noise" and then describing what he saw.

"He charged from 50 yards away... He was moving, he was really moving. And the reaction time was great.

He called the attacker a "lone wolf whack job" and said the officer who was shot was saved by the bulletproof vest he was wearing. The Secret Service agent was later released from hospital.

Suspect charged

The suspect was charged around 11.13pm (4.13am UK time) with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer with ‌a dangerous weapon.

Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, said he would appear in court on Monday but added "there will be many more charges".

Jeffrey Carroll, interim chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department, also said that initial information suggested he was staying at the hotel as a guest.

According to CBS News, Allen told authorities he was targeting Mr Trump.

The FBI and Secret Service were preparing to search a home believed to be associated with Allen in Torrance, a city of around 140,000 residents in California's South Bay.

It was not immediately clear whether Mr Trump was the target of the attack, but he later compared himself to former US president Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated in 1865.

Follow latest on Trump dinner shooting

Mr Trump told a reporter: "I've studied assassinations, and I must tell you, the most impactful people, the people that do the most...

"The people that make the biggest impact, they're the ones that they go after."

The president has survived multiple shootings and threats against his life over the last decade - take a look at the timeline below.

February 2026

A man was shot dead by the Secret Service after trying to "unlawfully enter" Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

Austin Tucker Martin, 21, who was armed with a shotgun and gas canister, had raised his gun "to a shooting position" before he was shot, according to Palm Beach County officials.

Martin was believed to have travelled from North Carolina, and his cousin later described the family as "big Trump supporters".

Donald and Melania Trump were in Washington at the time of the incident.

September 2024

A man hiding in bushes with an AK-47-style rifle attempted to assassinate Mr Trump as he played golf in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Ryan Routh, 59, fled and abandoned an assault-style rifle but was arrested the same day.

He was later jailed for life without parole, attempting to stab himself in the neck with a pen after the verdict was announced.

July 2024

Mr Trump narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, after eight shots were fired as he spoke at the campaign rally.

Shortly after God Bless The USA was played, and around eight minutes after Mr Trump began speaking, he was shot and wounded in the upper part of his right ear, causing "much bleeding".

The 20-year-old gunman, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot dead by Secret Service counter snipers at the scene, and Mr Trump was bundled from the stage.

One rally attendee was killed and two others seriously injured in the attack.

Images of a bloodied Mr Trump defiantly pumping his fist to the crowd after the shooting were widely shared following the incident.

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July 2024

Earlier this year, a Pakistani man was convicted of planning to kill Donald Trump and other prominent US politicians, following Washington's killing of Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani in 2020.

Asif Merchant, 47, was convicted of "murder for hire and attempting to commit an act of terrorism transcending ​national boundaries" at the behest of Iranian authorities, according to the Department of Justice.

He was arrested in 2024 as he was about the leave the US, having met undercover officers who pretended to be potential hitmen.

Tehran denied accusations that it sought to kill Mr Trump ​or other ⁠US officials.

Merchant admitted to ​joining the plot with Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps but testified he did ​so to protect his family in Tehran.

June 2016

A 20-year-old British man was jailed after trying to grab a police officer's gun at a rally in a Las Vegas casino, later saying he drove to the event to try to kill the then presumptive Republican nominee.

Michael Sandford, 20, of Dorking, Surrey, was unemployed, living out of his car and had undergone treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder and anorexia, according to authorities. He was unlawfully in the US after overstaying his visa by 10 months.

Sandford was later jailed, and served around half of his year-long sentence, before returning to the UK.

Brendan Mullan condemned the early morning attack, southwest of Belfast city centre, and in a statement said the device "was sent to kill officers and cause maximum harm".

Images circulating on the social media accounts of local media and politicians show what appears to be a vehicle engulfed by flames next to the police station.

Forensic officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) were examining the wreckage of a burnt-out vehicle on Sunday morning beside the station in the Kingsway area of Dunmurry.

Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O'Neill said those behind the attack "speak for absolutely no one".

She posted on social media: "They have no vision, no support, and have nothing to offer our society. Our communities deserve peace."

DUP leader Gavin Robinson described the reports as "deeply concerning".

He added: "If this was another attempt by dissident republicans to intimidate communities and target the police, then it must be met with the full force of the law."

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn also said he was "appalled" by the incident, calling it a "shameless and cowardly attack".

The PSNI gave few details but called for people to avoid the area as they dealt with a "security alert".

"Cordons are in place and an evacuation operation is underway. An update will follow in due course," the statement added.

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Last month, an explosive device that police described as "crude but viable" was at the centre of an attempted attack on another PSNI station.

A delivery driver was forced at gunpoint to transport the device to Lurgan police station in an incident blamed on dissident republicans.

Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister, Darren Jones, said the effects of the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would result in price hikes due to energy supply issues rather than shortages on supermarket shelves.

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On how long higher prices will remain, he told the BBC: "I think our best guess is eight-plus months from the point of resolution that you'll see economic impacts coming through the system.

"People will see higher energy prices, food prices and those types of issues, flight ticket prices, as a consequence of what Donald Trump has done in the Middle East."

Mr Jones is heading up a contingency planning group of ministers meeting twice a week to focus on live monitoring of stock levels and what plans are in place for addressing supply chain disruption.

The group will assess how the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the subsequent reduction in oil, gas and ammonia supply - and hike in prices - is directly affecting the UK.

Ministers are keen to stress there are no shortages yet, and drivers should continue to fill up as usual and not change travel plans over fears of potential jet fuel shortages.

There have also been fears the war could hit stocks of carbon dioxide, made from ammonia, which is used in the slaughter of some animals, in food preservation and to make sparkling drinks, as well as for defence purposes and medical uses such as MRI scanning.

Ammonia is also used in fertiliser for crops.

Earlier this month, reports said the government was planning for a worst-case scenario in which the UK could face food shortages, including chicken and pork, by the summer if the war continues due to CO2 shortages.

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Sir Keir Starmer will chair a meeting of the new Middle East Response Committee on Tuesday, which Mr Jones will report into.

Mr Jones said: "This is not our war. The government made the right call to stay out of the conflict and only take defensive action to protect Britain's interests.

"We're acting now to prepare for, and mitigate where possible, the impact on our economy and domestic security as a result of the conflict.

"The prime minister wants to see a toll-free Strait of Hormuz reopened as soon as possible. The UK is working tirelessly with our international partners to find a permanent solution to this crisis and minimise the knock-on impact to households.

"We will always put the British people's interests first."