Investigators on Sunday said the gunman who tried to storm a gala dinner attended by U.S. President Donald Trump planned to target top government officials, as scrutiny grew over the event’s security.

Trump, who was rushed out of the hotel ballroom in Washington by Secret Service agents, posted surveillance camera footage of the gunman attempting to sprint past a security checkpoint as guards drew their weapons.

After an exchange of gunfire, the suspect was detained at the scene and was being questioned Sunday before he is due to appear in court on Monday.

“He’s not actively cooperating. I expect that he will be formally charged tomorrow morning in federal court in Washington,” acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told CBS’s “Face The Nation.”

“We do believe, based upon just a very preliminary start to understanding what happened, that he was targeting members of the administration.”

Blanche added no further motive was known for the attack, confirming the suspect — who was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives — was staying at the Washington Hilton hotel where the black-tie dinner was held on Saturday evening.

“We believe that he travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then from Chicago to Washington,” Blanche said. “It appears he purchased these firearms in the past couple years.”

Attendees dove under tables in chaotic scenes as Secret Service agents swarmed into the glitzy White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, held annually in the U.S. capital.

Crowded into the ballroom were Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, several cabinet members and top lawmakers, and hundreds of guests in black tie.

‘Lone wolf’?

Trump said at a hastily arranged late-night news conference at the White House that he first thought the noise was a tray being dropped, before realizing it was gunfire. He said he hoped the media gala would be rescheduled within a month.

“They seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I feel that too,” the president said. One officer was shot at close range in his safety vest and appeared to be not seriously harmed.

Trump added that the venue was “not a particularly secure” facility, as questions swirled about the president’s safety.

An AFP photographer saw FBI tactical agents on Sunday evening entering a two-story, brown house in Torrance, Calif., associated with the suspect.

Multiple U.S. news outlets identified him as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from the southwestern Los Angeles suburb.

Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pa., in 2024. A gunman fired several shots, killing an audience member and lightly wounding the president in the ear.

A few months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking from the bushes on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing a round.

The Washington Hilton, where Saturday’s gala was taking place, was the site where Republican President Ronald Reagan was shot by a would-be assassin in 1981.

The White House Correspondents’ Association invited Trump this year despite his repeated attacks on the media.

Before this year and unlike all other presidents from the past 100 years, Trump had never attended while in office.

The dinner brings together journalists and the who’s who of Washington to raise funds for scholarships and awards.

The incident late Saturday came less than 48 hours before King Charles III and Queen Camilla begin a four-day state visit to the United States.

Source: AFP

–Agencies

Extraordinary footage of the civilian’s actions began circulating on social media on Sunday, shortly after two men, later identified as a father and son, started shooting into a crowd gathered to celebrate the first day of Hanukkah. The massacre has left at least 16 people dead in the worst terrorist attack in Australia’s history. 

Read More: Sixteen People Killed in Bondi Beach Hanukkah Terror Attack 

In the mobile-phone video, which has not been verified by Bloomberg News, one of the attackers is standing near a tree and firing. A few meters away, a crouched man emerges from behind a parked car. He grabs the shooter from behind and wrestles the weapon from his hands. Local media named the bystander as Ahmed el Ahmed, a 43-year-old father-of-two from south Sydney. He was shot twice and is being treated in the hospital, according to reports.

He was also soon lauded for his feat. Trump said at the White House that Ahmed had saved many lives and expressed “great respect” for him. In Sydney, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns went further, describing Ahmed’s wrestle with the shooter as “the most unbelievable scene I’ve ever seen.”

“That man is a genuine hero and I’ve got no doubt there are many, many people alive tonight as a result of his bravery,” Minns said at a press conference late Sunday.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also praised Ahmed, and other bystanders who helped treat victims in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. 

“People rushing towards danger to show the best of the Australian character,” Albanese told reporters Monday. “That’s who we are, people who stand up for our values.” 

Pershing Square Capital Management’s founder Ackman called Ahmed  “a brave hero” and said his hedge fund firm would establish a reward program for people who had carried out similar acts.

The top donor to a gofundme page set up for the “hero” who tackled the shooter is listed as William Ackman, who gave $99,999. More than $170,000 has been raised so far. 

Salesforce Inc. Founder and Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff also expressed his gratitude for Ahmed in a post on X.

A suspect has been arrested in connection with the recent shooting incident at Nawinna Junction, Maharagama, where a motorcyclist opened fire on a person along the High Level Road.

Police said that, acting on received information, officers of the Western Province South Range Crime Division carried out a raid in Kottawa and arrested the suspect.

Investigations have revealed that the arrested individual was the gunman involved in the shooting, which took place on 6 August 2025.

Upon further questioning, police recovered a foreign-made firearm and three 12-bore bullets from the suspect’s residence.

The suspect, a 39-year-old resident of Kiriwatthuduwa, is currently in police custody, and further investigations are underway, said police.