Shots fired at WH Correspondents’ Dinner; Trump rushed off stage

[0:00] But we now do have some video of the moment where the president was rushed off the stage. [0:05] Let us watch that now. [0:39] You know, what occurs to me as we're watching this as well, we just said Erica Kirk was in this room. [0:44] She was. [0:45] She was in this room as well. [0:47] There are reports that she was seen crying as she was leaving the room as well. [0:52] People who did see her there made that note. [0:54] Obviously, this had to be very, very traumatic. [0:56] We have Caitlin Collins on the line for some more insight. [0:59] Caitlin Collins, we're listening. [1:00] What's happening? [1:01] Hey guys, obviously, I mean, this is a total state of chaos right now in the ballroom. [1:09] And we're seated maybe 50 feet from the stage where the president was up there, the first lady, Melania Trump. [1:15] We have to stay here for now. [1:18] Security is telling us that everything's okay. [1:21] There was a shooter? [1:23] One second, guys. [1:24] I'm literally, what happened? [1:26] We're trying to identify it now. [1:28] Where was the shooter? [1:29] Somewhere out there. [1:30] In the lobby? [1:32] In the lobby? [1:33] In the lobby? [1:33] In the lobby? [1:33] All right, Control. [1:36] All right, guys. [1:37] I just want you to know this is not verified. [1:39] We're just listening to what's happening right now. [1:41] But we have security around us and it's secret service because there's a lot of members of the administration here. [1:47] The secretary of education is seated right next to me. [1:50] And her security just said, confirmed that there was a shooter in the lobby. [1:54] It's not clear where. [1:56] Obviously, it's a very big hotel in the lobby of the Hilton. [2:00] They said he is confirmed dead. [2:02] We don't know anything more than that. [2:04] But I can tell you, we had just sat down to dinner. [2:06] The president, the first lady, Caroline Levitt, were all on stage, including the vice president, J.D. Vance. [2:12] So, obviously, a lot of security here. [2:13] And, you know, at the beginning of the dinner, everyone's just kind of seated and having their meal. [2:17] And within a moment, armed secret services running in with massive guns. [2:22] I mean, maybe dozens. [2:23] And a silence just went over the room as they ran in. [2:26] Everyone ducked, got on the floor. [2:28] People were underneath the tables. [2:29] No one knew what was going on. [2:30] And for a second, the president actually was not evacuated offstage. [2:33] I looked. [2:34] He was sitting still right there. [2:35] A secret service is coming in and down the hallway. [2:39] And so we didn't know at first. [2:41] But then we heard from our own security that they heard shots fired. [2:43] And now we do have secret service telling us. [2:47] Obviously, I want to know this is only one secret service member. [2:49] But a member of security is here telling us that there is a shooter who is confirmed dead. [2:53] And now we are kind of basically locked inside the ballroom. [2:56] But basically, they were saying everyone's okay. [2:58] They have not identified the shooter yet. [3:00] But obviously, it shows you this was not some kind of false threat. [3:04] And obviously, something had happened. [3:05] And they rushed the entire administration offstage. [3:07] A few members are still in the audience. [3:10] Because as you guys know, someone from the administration is kind of seated at each table inside. [3:15] I'm actually sitting next to Secretary McMahon, the Secretary of Education. [3:20] And so that was what happened. [3:22] I mean, I've never seen anything like this in my life. [3:23] And I want you guys to know security is very tight getting in. [3:26] It's secret service who warns you. [3:27] You come in through magnetometers into this. [3:31] And so obviously, there's a ton of security here, given how many top officials here. [3:35] The House Speaker, Mike Johnson, top lawmakers who all their own security details are also [3:40] in the room. [3:41] It just speaks to this. [3:43] But as we were sitting here, and then moments later, obviously, the president was rushed off [3:46] stage. [3:47] The vice president was rushed off stage. [3:48] I saw Secretary Kennedy being rushed off as well, Stephen Miller and his wife, as they were [3:54] moving quickly. [3:55] But it's difficult for them to identify where everyone is in this very cramped ballroom as [4:00] we're all kind of seated right next to each other. [4:04] Caitlin, are you hearing anything more in terms of the number of shooters or any shots fired [4:12] or anything, information about where they were firing into? [4:16] Was it confined to the lobby or inside of the actual ballroom? [4:20] It's not clear because obviously, it looks like the threat was coming near the stage, [4:27] and that's where people thought that they heard gunshots. [4:28] But then we also have reports that people who are seated kind of in the back of the room [4:32] heard it. [4:32] I mean, the acoustics, obviously, it's hard to judge. [4:35] I personally did not hear the gunshots. [4:36] I was being unseated maybe 50 feet from the main stage here, the president, the first [4:41] lady, and the vice president work. [4:43] And you kind of walked downstairs. [4:44] It's in the basement of the Hilton. [4:46] The security just confirmed to me that the shooter that was here inside the Hilton where [4:51] the president was, it's confirmed dead, seemed to indicate that this person was in the lobby. [4:57] But, I mean, I want you guys to know this is all just coming in as we're literally standing [5:00] here in the room reporting on this as it's happening. [5:03] And just to give you insight into this room, obviously, it's always a huge gathering of media. [5:07] But when the president comes, it generates a lot of interest. [5:09] So there are some of those powerful figures in media, entertainment, news, Washington [5:14] that are inside this room right now, just to give you a sense of what this security nightmare [5:19] is like. [5:22] Yeah, again, just let's reiterate what Caitlin has just told us and bring people up to [5:25] speed as to what we know. [5:27] This is the White House Correspondents Dinner. [5:29] What was the White House Correspondents Dinner at the Washington Hilton Hotel about eight [5:34] minutes ago, 10 minutes ago, people heard things and the room was cleared out very quickly. [5:40] The president, the vice president, the entire day, as most of the cabinet is there as well, [5:45] taken out of the room. [5:46] Caitlin, who is in there, Caitlin Collins is reporting. [5:49] She is hearing from a security official that there were shots fired, perhaps in the lobby, [5:56] by someone who is now dead. [6:00] Now, we don't have any information this person got in the room or near the president or any [6:06] official, but there do appear to be, does appear to have been shots fired outside. [6:12] You can see officials now, right now, sweeping the area, going through, and we have no information [6:16] about who the individual might be or anything like that. [6:20] I will say, as Caitlin was saying, this is one of the most secure rooms on earth tonight. [6:26] You have the president, the vice president did, the entire, much of the entire cabinet there, [6:31] prominent media figures as well. [6:33] It takes a long time to get in and everyone is thoroughly screened, so questions will be [6:39] asked about how someone even got to the lobby. [6:42] Let's go to Brian Stelter and Manu Raju now, who are there for the latest on what you are hearing, [6:47] gentlemen. [6:47] And this information, John, that you've been reporting is news to most of the people in [6:54] the ballroom. [6:55] Most folks in the ballroom do not yet know anything about shots being fired. [7:00] I only saw, when I was sitting at the table, I saw President Trump getting pushed down by [7:09] his security detail and then being rushed out, then later seeing both the vice president, the [7:15] cabinet, also members of Congress also being rushed out by the security detail. [7:20] And now I'm looking around, wondering what happened, because people inside do not know. [7:26] I apologize. [7:27] I'm literally holding up a cell phone camera in order to show you this, but it's better [7:31] than nothing in a moment like this. [7:33] And I do think that, I don't want to overstate this, but there are some folks pretty shook up [7:37] in the room here. [7:39] You had folks who looked like they got hurt when they were falling to the ground. [7:42] And, you know, I don't want to overstate that, but this was a pretty sudden shocking interruption [7:48] in this room. [7:48] Yeah, no question about it, because if it's unmistakable, it sounded like gunshots that we heard from [7:54] not inside the room, but nearby. [7:57] That was enough to cause so many people to immediately, you know what they heard, jump to the ground, [8:04] try to protect themselves. [8:05] We saw how the security reacted very, very seriously, immediately, to the situation. [8:13] That's right. [8:14] John? [8:15] It is stunning to think about where we are right now, this evening that began as a question [8:21] of why now? [8:23] Why is the president of the United States speaking and attending what is his first White House [8:28] correspondence dinner as the president of the United States? [8:31] He is attending many of his cabinet members there, his obviously next in line, the vice [8:37] president of the United States, the first lady is there, the defense secretary, also you have [8:42] DNI, you have so many people in the administration, also many of whom were on that stage. [8:47] We are now, we watched the video footage as it was coming in live to a bit of chaos after [8:52] we were told that loud sounds had been heard inside of the actual venue. [8:57] Caitlin Collins is reporting that actual shots were fired in the lobby and a shooter confirmed [9:03] that we've got Jake Tapper, who is sitting next to Brian Seltzer as well, who is our eyes [9:08] and ears inside of the space right now. [9:11] Jake, what did you hear? [9:13] Can you tell us what you saw? [9:17] Jake, can you tell us? [9:19] I'm looking there, okay, sorry. [9:22] Jake, it's Warren Berman. [9:23] Yes, I can hear you. [9:24] What's going on? [9:27] So, this is what's happening. [9:29] We're just all at this dinner, and then all of a sudden, I didn't hear the bangs, but [9:36] I guess there was a bang. [9:39] And then there were Secret Service running here. [9:45] I'm sorry to hear that, but there's Secret Service running down this aisle right here. [9:50] And then if you look on stage, no one's on stage right now, but the president was there [9:55] and Secret Service has sorted him out. [9:58] And, you know, people were jumping under tables, and people were very upset and worried. [10:05] And I have some videos, so somebody needs to, we have no signal. [10:09] There's never any signal here at the Washington Guild, so I apologize for that. [10:13] But I have some video to send. [10:15] But in any case, I have no idea what happened. [10:19] Somebody with a Secret Service pin said that there was a shooter made his way into the building, [10:28] but not into the room. [10:31] And that shooter was stopped. [10:37] So that's all I know, is that shooter was stopped. [10:42] But again, that's from one person with a Secret Service pin, you know, not a thorough vetting [10:49] in a journalistic sense, but since I'm being interviewed more as a bystander at an event, [10:56] that's what I can tell.