In brief
- The suspected gunman in Sunday's thwarted shooting attempt published a manifesto before his attack.
- The alleged assassination attempt would be the third on Donald Trump.
Investigators said the gunman who tried to storm a gala dinner attended by Donald Trump planned to assassinate the US president and multiple top 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 footage of the gunman attempting to sprint past a checkpoint.
After a brief exchange of gunfire with agents, the suspect was detained at the scene on Sunday AEST and was being questioned before he is due to appear in court on Monday.
Trump shared photos of the suspect handcuffed on the carpeted hotel floor.
"He's not actively cooperating. I expect that he will be formally charged tomorrow morning in federal court in Washington," acting US attorney general Todd Blanche told American broadcaster CBS.
"We do believe, based upon just a very preliminary start to understanding what happened, that he was targeting members of the administration."
Blanche added that no further motive was known for the attack, and confirmed the suspect — who officials said was armed with a shotgun, handgun, and knives — was staying at the Washington Hilton hotel where the black-tie dinner was held.
"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 of years."
Guests hid under tables
Trump, without providing details, said the accused gunman had written an "anti-Christian" manifesto.
"The guy is a sick guy," Trump told Fox News. "His sister or his brother actually was complaining about it. They were even complaining to law enforcement."
"When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians," Trump said.
The New York Post said the suspect, widely named as Cole Allen, 31, had written in a note shared with his family shortly before the attack that his targets would be "prioritised from highest-ranking to lowest."
In the seconds after the shooting on a floor above, Secret Service agents swarmed into the ballroom, prompting chaotic scenes as attendees dove under tables.
Crowded into the ballroom were Trump, first lady Melania Trump, vice president JD Vance, several cabinet members and top politicians, and hundreds of guests in black tie.
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 realising it was gunfire.
He said he hoped the annual gala, hosted by the White House Correspondents' Association, 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 not to be seriously harmed.
Trump added that the hotel venue was "not a particularly secure" facility, as questions swirled about the president's safety protocols.
Multiple attempts on Trump's life
Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, 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 the gala was taking place, is the site where Republican President Ronald Reagan was shot by a would-be assassin in 1981.
"This keeps happening," Brian Raftery, an attorney, told Agence France-Presse in Washington on Sunday. "One of these times, unfortunately, something very bad is going to happen if we continue to have these types of attacks on political leaders."
Trump on Sunday said the shooting underlined the security reasons that he has cited for planning a huge new ballroom next to the White House, a project that has faced legal challenges.
The White House Correspondents' Association invited Trump to its gala 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.
Trump has requested the dinner be rescheduled within 30 days, saying: "That was going to be an important event."
Sunday's incident came amid a rising tide of political violence in the United States in recent years.
Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead at a rally last September, just months after the June 2025 slaying of Democratic Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband and the wounding of a Minnesota state senator in June 2025.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in the days following Kirk's murder found that Americans believe that increasingly harsh rhetoric surrounding politics is encouraging violence in the US.
Around the world, leaders condemned the attack and expressed relief that Trump and all present were safe.
NATO leader Mark Rutte called it an attack "on our free and open societies" and leaders stressed violence had no place in a democracy.
The incident came less than 48 hours before King Charles III and Queen Camilla begin a four-day state visit to Washington. British officials have said the visit will proceed, although the incident may affect its plans.
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