Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche has stated that preliminary findings suggest the suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner was likely targeting President Donald Trump and other administration officials.
Investigation Ongoing
Speaking on NBC News' Meet the Press, Blanche said: 'We’re still investigating a motive, and that’s something that will necessarily take a couple of days at least. We believe he was targeting administration officials in this attack, attempted attack, but that’s again, quite preliminary.' He added that those officials 'likely' include the US president, but cautioned, 'I want to wait and not get ahead of us on that.'
Suspect Not Cooperating
Blanche noted that the suspect is not cooperating with investigators. The individual will be charged in federal court on Monday with assault of a federal officer, discharging a firearm, and attempting to kill a federal officer. Blanche also stated he was unaware of any connection between the suspect and Iran.
Investigators believe the suspect traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, then from Chicago to Washington DC, before checking into the hotel where the dinner was held. Authorities are looking into reports that the suspect assembled the weapon somewhere in the hotel, but Blanche said he 'didn't get very far.'
'He barely broke the perimeter. And by barely, I mean by a few feet,' Blanche said.
The press briefing, held at the White House last night, featured Blanche alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and President Trump, who were still in formal attire following the incident.
