Senior Editor Tim Röhn was among the attendees at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner when a terrifying incident unfolded, causing widespread panic in the ballroom of the Hilton Hotel in Washington.
The Incident
On the evening of April 26, just after 8:30 p.m., chaos erupted in the ballroom. Röhn, seated among roughly 200 tables, heard loud thudding noises cutting through the music, followed by people quickly throwing themselves to the floor.
“I hear someone shout something like ‘Shooting’ or ‘Shots fired,’” Röhn recalls. He and others dropped to the floor, and soon, Secret Service agents were seen rushing through the room, pointing weapons at the crowd. Heavily armed officers emerged from behind the curtain, and high-ranking politicians were swiftly escorted to safety.
The Panic and Uncertainty
As Röhn crouched down, his eyes fixed on the stage, where President Donald Trump had just arrived, the thought crossed his mind: Was Trump the target?
The air was filled with tension as glass shattered, and security scrambled to contain the situation. It felt surreal, like a scene from a movie, but this was no fiction—it was the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
Despite no official “all-clear” being given, attendees slowly began to rise from the floor after several minutes. Phones emerged as people tried to process what had just happened. It was unclear what had caused the commotion, but news spread that a “shooter” had been apprehended in the hotel lobby, providing some relief to the shaken crowd.
Event Cancelled, Security Questions Raised
Though the dinner was supposed to resume, it never did. Trump invited the press to the White House for a briefing, and guests were asked to leave the hotel.
As Röhn exited, he reflected on the surprisingly lax security that had been in place throughout the evening, especially given the presence of President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and several cabinet members. He described how the only security checks were a brief metal detector scan for those entering the ballroom, without requests for IDs, passports, or even the removal of jackets.
Concerns Over Security at High-Profile Events
Röhn questioned whether such security measures were adequate for an event of this caliber, particularly with high-profile individuals in attendance. “Is that adequate security for such a high-profile event?” he asked, though he refrained from making a final judgment. He was certain, however, that the issue would be widely debated.
The Washington Hilton referred Business Insider’s inquiry to the U.S. Secret Service, which had been the lead security agency for the event. Business Insider has reached out to the Secret Service for further comment.
