What was supposed to be a glamorous, landmark Saturday evening at Washington D.C.’s Washington Hilton — marking Donald Trump’s first attendance at the annual White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner as sitting president — quickly descended into chaos when reports of gunshots sent attendees scrambling for cover and security agents rushing the commander-in-chief to safety. The incident unfolded as Trump sat on the event’s main dais, with sudden loud bangs cutting through the atmosphere of celebration, catching the president and other stage guests off guard, who immediately looked up in alarm. Footage captured by AFPTV, independent journalists on site, and other media outlets documents the panicky scene that unfolded in seconds. Moments after the loud reports, which attendees initially believed were gunshots, urgent shouts of “Get down!” and “Stay down!” rippled through the packed ballroom. Attendees ranging from veteran White House correspondents to senior Trump administration officials and cabinet members dropped to the floor or dove under tables to take cover. In the immediate aftermath of the disturbance, U.S. Secret Service agents surrounded President Trump with weapons drawn, swiftly escorting him off the stage through a rear curtain as the stunned crowd remained crouched in their places. The event’s big band performance came to an abrupt halt, and the normally festive room full of guests in formal ball gowns and tuxedos fell dead silent. Agents swarmed through the massive ballroom, moving past guests huddled on the floor, in a venue that carries grim historical weight: it is the same hotel where President Ronald Reagan survived an assassination attempt 45 years prior to this incident. Mehmet Oz, Trump’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, was being evacuated when he told reporters on site, “Shots fired upstairs.” Also hurried out of the ballroom by security was U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who carries his own family history of assassination: his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, was killed by an assassin’s bullet in Dallas, Texas in 1963. Alexandra Ingersoll, a correspondent with One America News, who was inside the ballroom when the chaos began, described the rapid response from the Secret Service to protect the president. “I just ducked under the table and I was like ‘I’m not going to risk this,’” Ingersoll told AFP. “I didn’t know if the shooter was neutralized or what was going on.” With few immediate details available about what had actually triggered the disturbance, officials ordered a full evacuation of the ballroom. Hundreds of attendees filed out into the Hilton lobby and eventually into the chilly Washington evening, where many gathered outside. Guests could be seen hugging one another, frantically calling and texting friends, family members and their news organizations to update them on their safety. In an official statement released shortly after the incident, the Secret Service confirmed it was investigating a shooting near the main security screening perimeter for the dinner. “The president and the first lady are safe, along (with) all protectees,” the agency confirmed. “One individual is in custody.” As of Saturday evening, it remained unclear whether the person taken into custody had fired shots, or if the gunfire reported was from Secret Service agents responding to the threat. Around 8:40 pm local time (0040 GMT), an AFP reporter on the scene observed uniformed police sprinting through the streets surrounding the hotel, moving barriers to redirect foot traffic, clearing vehicles from the area as quickly as possible, while a police helicopter circled overhead. Minutes after the evacuation, a presidential motorcade departed the Hilton, heading toward the White House. No further updates on the condition of the individual in custody or the nature of the threat had been released as of the initial reporting.