On the night of Sunday, a shooting incident took place at a correspondent’s dinner in Washington DC
The suspected perpetrator from the shooting at the Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington DC likely went after President Donald Trump and officials in his administration.
This is what Acting Minister of Justice Todd Blanche told NBC News on Sunday, writes the Reuters news agency.
– It appears that he actually set out to attack people who work in the administration, probably including the president, says Blanche.
He adds that the suspect probably traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington DC
The shooting incident took place on Saturday evening local time – the night before Sunday Danish time – at the Washington Hilton Hotel, the same place where the annual dinner was held.
Specifically, the incident occurred in what is described as the security screening area outside the dining room at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
The American media CBS News wrote earlier on Sunday that he intended to shoot officials in Donald Trump’s administration.
He must have told the police after the arrest, the media wrote on the basis of two unnamed sources.
From the police side, it has not yet been officially announced what the perpetrator’s motive was.
It was the first time that Trump attended the press dinner as a sitting president.
There were loud bangs, after which the president, the first lady, the vice president and a number of members of the Trump administration were evacuated.
Several of the 2,600 guests to the event sought refuge on the floor and under the tables in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton Hotel, where they had gathered.
The president said afterward that a member of the Secret Service was shot but was saved by a bulletproof vest. No one else was injured.
The suspect will be charged in federal court Monday with assault on a federal officer, discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer, Todd Blanche said.
The annual press dinner is organized by the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA). It is the association of journalists who cover the White House.
According to the organizers, the purpose of the correspondents’ dinner is to create a relaxed forum for social interaction between the press and the White House.
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