„I strongly condemn the attack on President Donald Trump. I am glad to hear that President Trump and the First Lady are safe,“ the Lithuanian president posted on the social media platform X.
He also noted that „political violence is never the answer.“
Foreign Minister Kęstutis Budrys called the news from Washington shocking, writing that there can be no tolerance for political violence.
ELTA notes that, according to AFP journalists and other witnesses, shots were heard after the opening remarks at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner held at the Washington Hilton. LRT journalist Augustinas Šemelis, based in Washington, was in the hall alongside U.S. President Donald Trump.
Armed tactical security forces took up positions on the stage where Trump was seated alongside his wife, Melania, Vice President J.D. Vance, and other government officials. They were immediately evacuated.
Hundreds of guests in the banquet hall, dressed in tuxedos and evening gowns, ducked under the tables, and later, after the event was postponed, went out into the hotel lobby and outside.
Authorities reported that none of the high-ranking officials or other guests at the gala dinner was injured.
According to officials, at approximately 8:36 p.m. (3:36 a.m. Lithuanian time), „a lone gunman“ broke through a security checkpoint set up in the hotel lobby, located directly in front of the banquet hall where the dinner was taking place.
Trump shared a video on his Truth Social platform showing the suspect rushing past the checkpoint and being surrounded by officers.
„He was armed with a rifle, a handgun, and several knives,“ Acting Metropolitan Police Department Chief Jeffery Carroll told reporters.
Law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the suspect and „apprehended the individual.“
A bullet „struck the bulletproof vest“ of a uniformed Secret Service agent, who was taken to the hospital. He is in good condition, Carroll said.
The suspect was not injured but was taken to the hospital for examination.
He has been arrested and will be brought before a federal court on Monday.
Trump shared photos of the suspected shooter, in which he is shirtless, handcuffed, and lying face-down on a carpeted floor, apparently in the lobby of the Hilton hotel.
His social media profile states that Allen is a mechanical engineer, computer scientist, game developer, and teacher.