Closed circuit TV captures armed man sprinting through security during White House Correspondents' Dinner
The video of the suspected shooter, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, is now generating questions about Trump's security and how a gunman could get so close to the president.
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Closed circuit television captured images of an armed man sprinting through security at the Washington D.C. Hilton Hotel during the White House Correspondents' Dinner Saturday night, which resulted in a scene of chaos and Secret Service taking President Donald Trump to safety.
Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents New York's 17th Congressional District, was there when the chaos unfolded.
"It was just chaos and confusion. Nobody really fully understood what happened or why everybody stormed into the room. And then they said, 'shots fired,' and so everybody went down, as low to the ground as they could get just to, obviously, avoid any potential crossfire. It was unnerving more so for me because my wife was there and we have two young kids, and, obviously, you focus on that in the moment," he said.
The video of the suspected shooter, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, is now generating questions about Trump's security and how a gunman could get so close to the president.
One Secret Service agent was wounded in the melee but survived the shooting. Trump said a bullet proof vest is what saved his life.
"Maybe the perimeter should have been, you know, further. Maybe it should have been before you get into the hotel," said former NYPD detective and Long Island-based security professional Kevin Schroeder. He says Secret Service agents responded well at that moment in time.
"I mean this was the third time, if it is against President Trump. This is the third time now this attempt has happened. And so I believe that Secret Service will be looking at everything and they'll be doing the adjustments that need to be done moving forward," he concluded.
Trump spoke after the disruption of the event and said the Correspondents' Dinner will be rescheduled and held at a later date.
