White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt broke her silence on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting after previously declaring there would be “shots fired” at the event.
Leavitt, 28, took to Instagram on Sunday, April 26, to reflect on the shooting that saw her, President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and other administration officers evacuated from the Washington Hilton ballroom one day prior due to shots ringing out over dinner.
“What was supposed to be a fun night with President Trump delivering jokes and celebrating free speech was hijacked by a depraved anti-Trump lunatic who sought to assassinate the President and kill as many top Trump administration officials as possible,” Leavitt’s Instagram post read.
Just minutes before shots were heard at the gala, Leavitt, who is pregnant with her second child to husband Nicholas Riccio, told Fox News on the red carpet that a speech to be delivered to Trump, 79, would be “funny” and “entertaining,” and that there “will be some shots fired tonight in the room.”
Leavitt’s post, accompanied by a carousel of photos taken prior and during the dinner, and in the aftermath of the evacuation, continued, “I was with President Trump and the First Lady back stage after we were quickly ushered to safety by Secret Service. President Trump was truly fearless, but as he said last night, this political violence needs to end.”
The post, which captured Leavitt seated beside Vice President JD Vance in the White House Oval Office, concluded, “Thank you to law enforcement for keeping all of us safe, including the brave agent who took a bullet to the chest and immediately moved to neutralize the shooter. Pray for our country.”
Washington D.C. law enforcement officials confirmed that a 31-year-old man from California was apprehended as a result of the shooting incident on Saturday, April 25. He has been charged with two counts of using a firearm and one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. The suspect’s motives and condition remain unknown.
A member of the Secret Service was shot during the incident, which took place near the venue’s “main magnetometer,” per information provided by the Secret Service. Trump later confirmed that the Secret Service agent was recovering in the hospital.
“The vest did its job. I just spoke to the officer and he’s doing great,” Trump told reporters in the event’s wake.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner served as a temporary farewell for Leavitt as she prepares to welcome her second child in the coming days. (Leavitt and Riccio, 60, are also parents to son Nico, born in July 2024.)
In the hours that followed the shooting, Leavitt personally confirmed via an X post that Trump had scheduled a press conference in the late hours of Saturday night. In her Instagram post, Leavitt included a photo from the press conference that showed her standing beside the lectern that Trump spoke from.
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