US President Donald Trump and other top officials were evacuated from an annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday night after shots were fired in the building.
A person is in custody after a “shooting incident” near a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton, authorities said.
The shooting, which happened two days before the King and Queen start a state visit to the US, was outside the room where the dinner was taking place.
The Secret Service and other authorities swarmed the banquet hall at the Washington Hilton as guests dining on burrata salad ducked under tables by the hundreds
Mr Trump was escorted off stage and apparently tripped as he was helped up by Secret Service agents. All officials protected by the Secret Service were evacuated.
Mr Trump and vice president JD Vance were unhurt. An officer was shot while wearing a bullet-resistant vest and is expected to be OK, law enforcement official said.
Writing on Truth Social, Mr Trump said: “Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted quickly and bravely.
“The shooter has been apprehended, and I have recommended that we ‘LET THE SHOW GO ON’ but, will entirely be guided by Law Enforcement.”
In a later post, Mr Trump said the event was being cancelled on the request of law enforcement, but would be rescheduled within 30 days.
“The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition,” he wrote.
Update from President Donald J. Trump pic.twitter.com/JbNmA6DYdn
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) April 26, 2026
Defence secretary Pete Hegseth and secretary of state Marco Rubio were among the senior members of the Trump administration in attendance.
The White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang said everyone was safe and the event would be rescheduled.
Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area as helicopters circled overhead.
Mr Trump earlier entered the subterranean banquet hall of the Washington Hilton to the strains of Hail To the Chief and greeted prominent journalists on the dais, also pausing to laud White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt with a cheerful pointing of his finger.
He did not attend during his first term or the first year of his second. He came as a guest in 2011, sitting in the audience as President Barack Obama made some jokes about him. Mr Trump also attended in 2015.