'They think he is a lone wolf,' Trump says of alleged gunman

Richard Winton and Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times on Apr 25, 2026

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During a news conference shortly after President Donald Trump was abruptly escorted out of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, he described the moment authorities arrested the alleged gunman.

“The First Lady on my right, and I heard a noise, and sort of thought it was a tray,” Trump said. “I thought it was a tray going down many times, and it was pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away.”

The president said the person hadn’t gone into the dinner area because security “really got him.”

“It was a gun, and some people really understood that pretty quickly,” he said. “I was watching to see what was happening, but we should have gotten down even faster.” He added, “Melania was very cognizant, I think, of what happened. I think she knew immediately what happened.”

The president said investigators “think he is a lone wolf.”

Interim Chief of Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department Jeffery Carroll said the person was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives and “was a lone actor.” He was taken down and was not shot.