BY AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

US Secret Service agents bundled Donald Trump from the stage as shots rang out Saturday evening at a media gala, in what the president later described as an attack by a “would-be assassin.”

Armed guards opened fire at the gunman who charged through a security checkpoint just outside the ballroom of the hotel where Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, senior government officials and hundreds of other black-tie guests had gathered.

People dived under tables in chaotic scenes as Secret Service teams swarmed into the glitzy White House Correspondents’ Association dinner held annually at the Washington Hilton in the US capital.

“A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of the Secret Service,” Trump told a press conference at the White House shortly after the incident.

  “They seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I feel that too,” he said, after posting video of the gunman sprinting past security as guards drew their weapons. The man was detained at the scene.

Trump said one officer was shot at close range but appeared to not be critically injured. He added that the venue was “not a particularly secure” facility as questions swirled about the president’s safety.

Trump said at the hastily arranged news conference that he first thought the noise was a tray being dropped before he realized it was gunfire. He said he planned to re-schedule the media gala within a month despite the security scare.

City officials said the suspect, who will be arraigned in court on Monday on firearm and assault charges, appeared to have been a guest at the hotel. He was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives.

“Law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the individual,” Washington police chief Jeffrey Carroll told reporters. “A US Secret Service uniformed division officer was struck in his vest. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He appears to be in good spirits.”

As the incident erupted, tactical teams with guns drawn took position on the stage where Trump had been sitting during dinner before he was evacuated.

Police surrounded the hotel, and helicopters hovered overhead.

The security breach occurred after the welcoming speech and during dinner, before Trump was due to speak.

Cabinet members were evacuated first as confusion and concern spread through the partying guests.

One administration official, Mehmet Oz, told journalists “shots fired upstairs” as he was rushed out by security.

Trump was the target of an assassination attempt during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in 2024. A gunman fired several shots, killing a rally-goer 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.

Organizers told guests that the White House Correspondents’ Dinner would continue despite the incident.

Trump was attending the event for the first time while in office.

The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) invited Trump this year despite his repeated attacks on the media. The move had drawn backlash across newsrooms, and hundreds of journalists signed an open letter asking attendees to call out Trump’s press restrictions.

Unlike all other presidents from the past 100 years, Trump has never attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner while in office — until now.

The “Nerd Prom” as attendees dub it brings together hundreds of Washington journalists and media executives to raise funds for scholarships and awards.

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.

Organizers at first told guests that Saturday’s dinner would continue, before announcing it had been postponed.

In the Butler shooting, Trump was grazed on his right ear when a 20-year-old gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop while the Republican presidential candidate was holding a campaign rally in Butler on July 13.

One person in the audience was killed and the gunman, Thomas Crooks, was shot dead by a Secret Service sniper.