What it was like in the room as shots rang out at correspondents' dinner

The BBC's Gary O'Donoghue describes the moment he and others dived for cover as shots rang out at the venue. Inside the room as shots rang out at correspondents' dinner 'You just didn't know': Gary O'Donoghue shares confusion and fears Moment Trump rushed from White House Correspondents' Dinner after gunshots heard Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Guests take cover near a table after hearing shots at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington. What it was like in the room as shots rang out at correspondents' dinner Chief North America correspondent at the Washington Hilton Watch: 'You just didn't know': Gary O'Donoghue shares confusion and fears Gary O'Donoghue speaks to camera. He's wearing a dinner jacket. I had just put my knife and fork down, and almost didn't notice the booming sounds coming from somewhere in front of me in the direction of the main entrance to the ballroom at the Washington Hilton. Within moments, I thought – that is the low thudding sound that semi-automatic weapons make. As someone who is blind I focus on the sounds, and I heard the shattering of glass. Then I felt the head of my colleague, Daniel, who I had just been speaking to, brush past and I realised he was diving for the floor. I was on my knees, under the table cloth, almost certain that here I was, another Saturday night, another presidential event, and in the midst of yet another shooting. Guests take cover after US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. What we know about the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner In pictures: Chaos as gunfire heard in Washington DC ballroom I was there in Butler, Pennsylvania in July 2024 when the president came within inches of losing his life. I was there in Butler, Pennsylvania in July 2024 when the president came within inches of losing his life. The moments after that were filled with screaming and running people. This time was different as within seconds, we were under the table. Another colleague told me how, as the shots rang out, he saw dozens of people running into the ballroom from the corridor outside. For the five or ten minutes we stayed under the table, all of us were waiting to see if a gunman had also run into the room and was about to start shooting at the two-and-a half thousand people in attendance at this dinner. A colleague told me how she had seen the Secret Service on the stage behind us, rushing President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and Vice-President JD Vance away. Other agents stood in their helmets and bulletproof vests, with their guns trained on the crowd, looking to see if there were more threats. Moment Trump rushed from White House Correspondents' Dinner after suspected gunshots heard Donald Trump and Melania Trump at White House Correspondents Dinner Just before the dinner, I had seen Health Secretary RFK Jr in a small room by the ballroom. I asked him if he was looking forward to the event, and he told me he was hungry and wanted to get on with it. He was seated at a table not far behind me. And about 30m behind us towards the main doors, FBI Director Kash Patel was on the floor with the rest of us – shielding his girlfriend - as a Secret Service agent ran across the ballroom to his aid. Immediately, your mind goes to the what, the why and - in this case - especially the how. How could a gunman have got close to the president, again? Many guests ducked under tables after shots were heard at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner All the roads had been closed around the Hilton for hours, blocked off by law enforcement. But the security at the venue itself wasn't particularly heavy. The man on the door outside only took a cursory look at my ticket from what must have been six feet away. We took the lift down to the ballroom, and an agent wanded me but wasn't particularly interested in the bleeps set off by the contents of my inside jacket pocket. They did not ask me to turn out my belongings. In short, the security felt like a regular White House Correspondents Dinner - one without the sitting president in attendance. As we were held in the ballroom after the shooting, we desperately tried to get phone signal to do some broadcasting and learn more. I tried not to think too much about the scale of what had just happened. Nevertheless, there was that telltale pricking at the eyes when your mind begins to think about what might have been. And how many of these things you have to go through in this country before your luck runs out. Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were rushed from a ballroom after gunfire was heard. Moments after shots were fired at the White House Correspondents' dinner, the US vice-president was quickly escorted off stage Armed Secret Service agents flood the ballroom of a Washington DC hotel as President Trump is rushed off stage. Surveillance video released by Donald Trump shows the suspect running past metal detectors as security agents draw their guns. Police say a man charged security outside of the dining room and was armed with multiple weapons. The US president was midway through a conversation before loud bangs rang out at the venue and he was quickly escorted to safety. King Charles and Queen Camilla will meet with President Donald Trump during a four-day state visit. Iran had earlier said there were no plans for a direct meeting with a US delegation led by Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.