White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt promised there could be “shots fired” in President Donald Trump’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner speech minutes before real gunfire erupted on the gala.
“[Trump] is able to rumble,” Leavitt, 28, told Fox News on the red carpet on the Washington Hilton on Saturday, April 25. “I’ll let you know, this speech tonight shall be classic Donald J. Trump.”
She then declared, “[The speech] shall be funny. It’s going to be entertaining. There shall be some shots fired tonight within the room.”
Leavitt — who’s pregnant — was evacuated from the Washington Hilton ballroom moments later alongside Donald, 79, first lady Melania Trump and other administration officials when shots rang out near the venue’s “principal magnetometer”, per the Secret Service.
Washington D.C. law enforcement officials confirmed that a 31-year-old man from California was apprehended through the shooting incident and has been charged with two counts of using a firearm and one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. (The suspect’s motives and condition remain unknown.)
A Secret Service agent was shot through the crossfire. The president later confirmed in a news conference that the injured agent was recovering within the hospital.
“The vest did its job. I just spoke to the officer and he’s doing great,” he told reporters.
Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner was purported to be a brief farewell for Leavitt because she is anticipated to deliver her second child very soon. (Leavitt and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, also share a son, Niko, who was born in July 2024.)
“It will likely be my last gaggle for a while,” she told reporters on Friday, April 24. “As you possibly can see, I’m about able to have a baby any minute, so I’ll see you guys very soon.”
Karoline Leavitt listens to US President Donald Trump’s press conference. Getty Images/Kent NISHIMURA / AFP
She added, “I do know you’ll be in good hands with my team here on the White House. And I do know all of you have got the president’s phone number personally, so I actually have little doubt that you’re going to don’t have any shortage of statements and news from this constructing while I’m gone.”
Nevertheless, Leavitt was unexpectedly ward off onto the job following the shooting on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner dinner as she personally confirmed that Trump planned to carry a press conference late Saturday night.
During his remarks, Trump said he was “honored to be a goal” despite multiple attempts on his life in the previous few years. (Trump survived being shot within the ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. One other suspected shooter was apprehended on the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024.)
ANGELA WEISS / AFP Ivanka Trump is recalling how she got the news that her father, President Donald Trump, was shot within the ear during a July 2024 assassination attempt. Trump, 79, survived the shooting at an open-air rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, while campaigning for a second term as president. The […]
“If you have a look at our great presidents, [this] doesn’t occur to individuals who don’t do anything,” Trump said.
The star-studded guest list for Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner included Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk, whose late husband, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was fatally shot at age 31 in September 2025. CNN reported that she was seen crying and telling aides she “just want[ed] to depart” following the shooting.