President Donald Trump has already released photos and surveillance footage of the shooter at the White House correspondents’ dinner, emphasizing the importance of transparency at this time.
The president confirmed during a press conference late on Saturday evening that the shooter was a man from California, that he was in federal custody, and that the video on the president’s account does show him rushing a security checkpoint in the Washington Hilton hotel. Trump did not say specifically if the name released on several websites is the shooter’s name, all PJ Media can confirm at this time are the photos and videos below.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 26, 2026
And the photos:
Trump just posted pictures of the shooter on Truth pic.twitter.com/uSTHIQuZxg
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 26, 2026
Interim D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Chief of Police Jeffrey Carroll confirmed in a statement to the press that the shooter was armed with “a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives” at the time he rushed the checkpoint at the correspondents’ dinner. MPD stated that this was an isolated incident and that the department did not have the shooter on its radar before tonight. It is not clear how the shooter managed to get inside the hotel and so close to the ballroom where Trump, JD Vance, and other administration officials were.
Carroll also stated that the shooter was not shot by the Secret Service. Fox News reported that the shooter was a guest at the hotel, which could explain his proximity to the event and his presence inside the hotel. The network also reported that the shooter will likely appear in federal court next week.
Coincidentally, John Hinckley Jr. shot the late Republican President Ronald Reagan outside that same Washington Hilton hotel back in 1981.
Related: White House Correspondents Dinner: Secret Service Agent Shot but in Good Condition
The shooter reportedly hit a Secret Service agent, and Trump confirmed during his press conference that he had spoken to the agent, who was in good condition and would recover thanks to the body armor he was wearing at the time. Both Trump and U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro praised the efficiency, courage, and effectiveness of all security and law enforcement at the event.
We recently marked the anniversary of the assassination of Republican President Abraham Lincoln by a Confederate sympathizer on April 14, 1865, and April 25 is the anniversary of the last major surrender of the Democrat-started Civil War, at Bennett Place in 1865. Mainstream media stooges were flaunting pins to demonstrate their opposition to Donald Trump at the dinner, and many of them have smeared Trump as a neo-Nazi, a racist, and a threat to democracy. Democrats have always fueled violence against Republicans, haven’t they?
Interestingly, the U.S. Justice Department has just brought back firing squads at the federal level for individuals convicted of capital offenses. It’s a rather fascinating coincidence that this happened right before what seems to have been the third nearly-successful assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life.
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