A forensic lipreader has disclosed the panicked words of Vice President JD Vance during the chaotic moments when an apparent would-be assassin stormed a formal dinner event in Washington DC. Gunshots rang out at the hotel where the White House Correspondents' Dinner was taking place, with President Donald Trump preparing to address top US journalists on Saturday evening.
Chaos at the Correspondents' Dinner
Dramatic footage from the scene shows personnel rushing onto the stage to pull Trump, his wife Melania, and several other top administration officials to safety. Secret Service members clutched onto the Vice President and yanked him out of his seat as the chaos unfolded. Forensic lipreader Nicola Hickling revealed that a bodyguard approached Vance shouting: 'Run, f***ing run.'
The Vice President responded: 'What's happening? I'm going' before he hurriedly left the stage. Officials stated that the attacker was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives when he charged at a security checkpoint near the ballroom.
Suspect Identified
Trump later posted pictures of the suspect lying face down on the carpeted floor, topless. US outlets identified him as Cole Thomas Allen, 31, from Torrance, California. Another guest seen being escorted away was Erika Kirk, wife of right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated on a college campus in September. Erika was seen in tears leaving the venue, telling a bodyguard: 'I just wanna go home.'
Timeline of Threats Against Trump
This incident is the latest in a series of security threats against the former and current president. Key events include:
- June 18, 2016: At a Las Vegas rally, British man Michael Steven Sandford attempted to grab a police officer's pistol.
- September 6, 2017: In North Dakota, Gregory Lee Leingang stole a forklift and tried to drive it toward the presidential motorcade.
- September 20, 2020: Pascale Cécile Véronique Ferrier was arrested after a ricin-laced letter intended for Trump was intercepted.
- July 12, 2024: Pakistani national Asif Merchant was arrested for a murder-for-hire plot on behalf of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
- July 13, 2024: Shooter Thomas Crooks fired eight shots at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, wounding Trump and killing one audience member.
- September 15, 2025: Ryan Routh was sighted with a rifle at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, and later sentenced to life in prison.
- February 22, 2026: Armed intruder Austin Tucker Martin was shot dead at Mar-a-Lago by Secret Service.
- April 25, 2026: At the White House Correspondents' Dinner, suspect Cole Thomas Allen was arrested after gunfire erupted.
Trump's Account of the Incident
At a press conference after the shooting, Trump said: 'It's always shocking when something like this happens. The fact that we were sitting next to each other, the first lady on my right, and I heard a noise,' adding they thought 'it was either a tray or a bullet.' He noted that Melania instantly recognized the sound as a 'bad noise' and described it as 'a rather traumatic experience for her.' Within seconds, the President, First Lady, and Vice President ducked under their table on stage before Secret Service agents escorted them to safety.
Trump confirmed that an officer was shot during the exchange: 'One officer was shot, but saved by the fact that he was wearing a very good bulletproof vest. He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job.'
