Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, and said he was armed with multiple weapons before being stopped by Secret Service personnel near the event’s main security perimeter.

One law enforcement officer was struck in a bullet-resistant vest and is expected to recover, according to officials cited by The Associated Press.Addressing reporters later at the White House, Trump said the suspect had been carrying several weapons and described the officer’s survival as the result of close-range protective gear performance.

“He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job,” Trump said.The incident unfolded just as Trump was preparing to deliver remarks at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, his first attendance at the annual event as president.

Guests inside the subterranean ballroom reported hearing between five and eight shots before Secret Service agents rushed toward the president.Witnesses said agents surrounded Trump onstage as guests ducked beneath tables and shouted warnings echoed through the hall.

During the evacuation, Trump briefly stumbled and was helped to his feet by security personnel before being escorted out.The banquet hall, filled with journalists, political leaders and public figures, was immediately placed under lockdown. National Guard personnel and law enforcement officers secured exits while helicopters circled overhead and surrounding streets were sealed off.

Among those evacuated were Vice President JD Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson.Johnson later said he and his wife were “praying for our country tonight,” while House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said “The violence and chaos in America must end.”

Republican Representative Mike Lawler of New York, who attended the dinner, said the uncertainty in the room escalated quickly after the first loud noise.“We didn’t know what the hell it was,” Lawler said, adding that threats against public officials have become increasingly common.

The event briefly appeared likely to resume as staff reset tables, refilled water glasses and prepared Trump’s teleprompter. However, White House Correspondents’ Association President Weijia Jiang later announced the dinner would be canceled and rescheduled.“We will do this again,” Jiang told attendees.

The annual dinner, traditionally attended by presidents, journalists, lawmakers and celebrities, has long served as one of Washington’s most visible intersections of politics and media. Trump had not attended during his first term or the first year of his second term, making Saturday’s appearance particularly notable given his administration’s strained relationship with the press.

In recent months, Trump’s administration has clashed repeatedly with major media organizations including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Associated Press, while facing criticism over restrictions on press access and legal disputes involving journalists.

Ahead of the dinner, nearly 500 retired journalists signed a petition urging the correspondents’ association to take a stronger stand against what they described as threats to press freedom.Outside the hotel, a small group of protesters gathered before the event, some carrying signs criticizing the administration’s treatment of the media.

Authorities have not yet released further details about the suspect’s motive or how he reached the security perimeter of one of Washington’s most heavily protected political events.

Northern Ireland’s Belfast Telegraph reported on Sunday that the vehicle detonated outside the police station during the night, publishing an image showing a car engulfed in flames near the site.The Police Service of Northern Ireland said in a statement that officers were responding to a security alert in Dunmurry and that an evacuation operation was underway in the area.

Authorities did not immediately confirm the cause of the explosion or whether the incident was being treated as a deliberate attack.Police said emergency procedures were put in place as security personnel secured the surrounding area and residents were advised to avoid the location while investigations continued.

No officers were injured in the blast, the Belfast Telegraph reported, though officials had not yet released information on whether any civilians were harmed or whether arrests had been made.

The incident comes against the backdrop of persistent low-level security threats in Northern Ireland despite the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which largely ended three decades of sectarian conflict known as the Troubles.

Police officers in the region remain occasional targets of dissident republican groups, most of them small nationalist militant factions opposed to British rule in Northern Ireland and the peace settlement that followed.

Security incidents involving improvised explosive devices and attacks on law enforcement have continued sporadically in recent years, particularly in Belfast, Londonderry and border regions.The police service has not publicly linked Sunday’s explosion to any specific group, and investigations were ongoing.

The Dunmurry alert led to overnight road closures and the deployment of armored police vehicles, according to local reports, as officers conducted searches around the station and nearby streets.

Officials were expected to provide further details later on Sunday as forensic teams examined the scene.

The gunman, described as having been born in Moscow and previously residing in eastern Ukraine, opened fire with a registered weapon near a supermarket in the capital on Saturday.

Authorities have not disclosed a motive.Public anger has intensified in the aftermath, particularly following reports that two law enforcement officers since suspended fled the scene. The incident has prompted renewed calls from some politicians and citizens for broader access to firearms for self-defense.

Oleksandra Ustinova, a member of parliament’s domestic security committee, said the attack underscored vulnerabilities in public protection, writing on social media that more needed to be done to address security realities.Ukraine maintains tight controls on civilian firearms.

Handguns are effectively prohibited, while licenses for other weapons, such as hunting rifles, are granted under strict conditions. Fewer than 10 percent of households possess a firearm, according to estimates by the Switzerland-based Small Arms Survey, which has also reported that Russia’s 2022 invasion did not significantly increase civilian gun ownership.

At the outset of the invasion, authorities distributed thousands of small arms to civilians but later reimposed tighter controls and increased seizures, according to the group.

Debate over reform has persisted since parliament approved draft legislation regulating civilian firearm possession and use for self-defense on the eve of the February 2022 invasion, though the bills remain unpassed.

Igor Fris, a lawmaker involved in drafting the legislation, said the recent shooting might have been deterred if civilians were permitted to carry weapons, arguing that potential attackers could be discouraged by the prospect of armed bystanders.

However, he acknowledged that Ukraine’s wartime conditions and heightened public stress would necessitate a phased approach to any policy change.Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said discussions on firearm regulation would be revisited following the incident.

Opposition to loosening restrictions remains firm among some lawmakers. Inna Sovsun, a member of parliament, questioned the rationale for expanding access to weapons when the firearm used in the attack had been legally registered, emphasizing concerns about increased risks to public safety.

Public opinion appears mixed. Surveys cited by the Small Arms Survey indicate that while a significant portion of Ukrainian men without firearms express interest in owning one, concerns over safety, regulation and enforcement persist, particularly as the country continues to navigate the pressures of ongoing conflict.

Freeman, 56, was shot dead by police on Monday at a remote property in northern Victoria, bringing to an end an extensive manhunt that began in August last year when he fled into dense bushland following the fatal shooting of two officers at his rural home.

Victoria Police said a man and a woman were detained at separate properties on Saturday morning and would be questioned over potential assistance provided to the fugitive during his time on the run.

“The investigation remains ongoing and as such, we are not in a position to provide further details at this immediate time,” police said in a statement.

Authorities had deployed significant resources in the search for Freeman, who was accused of killing 59-year-old detective Neal Thompson and 35-year-old senior constable Vadim De Waart when officers attended his property.

A third officer was wounded in the lower body during the incident.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush earlier described the operation as one of the most resource-intensive in Australian policing history, adding investigators believed Freeman may have relied on local support to remain concealed.

“It would be very difficult for him to get to where he was without assistance,” Bush said following Freeman’s death.

The arrests mark the latest development in the investigation into the circumstances that enabled Freeman to evade authorities for months despite a large-scale coordinated search across rural Victoria.