AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
A gunman opened fire in a Washington hotel last night, causing President Trump to be rushed from the ballroom there. Trump was attending the White House Correspondents' Dinner, an annual event in Washington that draws journalists and top officials from all branches of the government. Trump, the first lady and members of the Cabinet are all safe. The gunfire occurred in the Washington Hilton, but outside the security perimeter of the ballroom. NPR White House correspondents Franco Ordoñez and Deepa Shivaram were there and join us now. Franco, let's start with you. Like, what did you see?
FRANCO ORDOÑEZ, BYLINE: Yeah, Ayesha. I mean, it was very chaotic, very confusing. I mean, really, the dinner had just started. I mean, they just presented the colors, and "The Star-Spangled Banner" had just been played. At our table, the wait staff was really just starting to clear the salad plates when we heard this bang, bang, bang. My guest, who works in the administration, kind of turned toward me, also kind of looking back to where the bang was, and was like, what was that? And then it was just a bit of a scream and then crashing of tables as all the guests were literally just hitting the floor, going over tables, going over chairs.
You know, just to stop and paint a little bit of a picture, I mean, this is a massive ballroom. Hundreds of people, more than 2,000 people by some estimates - journalists, politicians, members of the Cabinet, their staffs, some celebrities - everyone is diving to the floor. The speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, just a couple tables down, diving to the floor. You know, then a swarm of agents are coming in, guns drawn, stepping over people, stepping over tables. One colleague, Courtney Dorning, you know, was lying next to a member of the hotel staff and could hear her saying and praying that she didn't want to die. I mean, very chaotic, very confusing and also very emotional.
RASCOE: Deepa, you were a part of the pool of reporters traveling along with the president last night, you know, in his motorcade and at the event. So you were within the security bubble of the White House, essentially. What did you see?
DEEPA SHIVARAM, BYLINE: Yeah. I feel like I almost had a very different experience than Franco, so it's so interesting to hear what was happening in the ballroom because the press pool wasn't held in the ballroom. The idea was that we were brought in so when the president came out on stage, we saw that happen. And then there's a seated dinner for several hours right before the president actually makes remarks. And during that seated dinner portion, we were actually brought out into the hallway to have a much less glamorous dinner of our own, just sitting around tables and chairs and, you know, we were charging our laptops and our gear.
And because we were out in the hallway, we were actually a lot closer to where the shooting took place in the hotel. So when those gunshots rang out, it was very distinct-sounding, and it was very clear. Obviously, we didn't have eyes on what was going on, but it was very clear that, you know, something had happened. There was a lot of running through the hallways. Not as many people around compared to inside the ballroom, but several people - staff running out, hiding in stairwells.
Where I was, there was two little office rooms, and that's where I saw members of the Cabinet being rushed into by Secret Service agents. So Kash Patel, the FBI director, RFK Jr., the HHS secretary, were being held in these rooms with armed Secret Service, basically just trying to keep as many people safe as they could. And then about four minutes after those shots rang out, I saw a Secret Service agent walk by and said that the shooter was in custody.
RASCOE: And President Trump - he spoke at the White House after the event. What stood out to you about his remarks, Deepa?
SHIVARAM: Yeah. He was - came out into the briefing room in his tuxedo that he was wearing from the dinner, flanked by several members of the administration, including Kash Patel, including Pete Hegseth, who was in the room, the defense secretary. First lady Melania Trump was standing nearby as well. That's not often common, that she's in the briefing room. And he basically made remarks for a couple minutes. He had a very calm demeanor, and he very plainly stated what had happened to him in the room. At one point, he shared that he thought it was a tray that had fallen down. He didn't know if it was gunshots at first, but he pointed out that the first lady pretty much knew immediately what was happening.
And he, you know, answered questions. He didn't have any concerns about his security, the way the Secret Service acted. He was very complimentary. And he was really complimentary of the dinner, actually, which was a little surprising, given his history of criticizing the press quite openly. But he said it was an event about free speech, and he noted that the night brought people together in a way that was a little bit different. And as you pointed out earlier, Ayesha, he pitched that the event should take place again. He wanted it to continue last night, but law enforcement said that they had to vacate. But maybe in 30 days, there'll be another dinner.
RASCOE: Franco, what about you? What stood out to you?
ORDOÑEZ: Yeah. I mean, I felt like, kind of like Trump often does in these kind of cases, he gave some of the most vivid details of what happened. The president described this man racing through security, holding multiple guns. Then the - a Secret Service officer actually was shot in the process, but he was wearing a bulletproof vest, which helped him and saved him. When asked how he was feeling, the president said it was shocking. And as Deepa just pointed out - but at first, he didn't actually think it was a shooting. Trump would later send out a video of the man, you know, storming the security and, you know, agents kind of pulling their guns. But as always Trump does, he was very complimentary of the agents and saying that - he wouldn't say directly that it was politically motivated, but he did leave that open.
RASCOE: That's NPR's Franco Ordoñez and NPR's Deepa Shivaram. Thank you so much.
SHIVARAM: Thanks, Ayesha.
ORDOÑEZ: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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