Story perspectives

Gunfire Shocks White House Dinner, Trump Unhurt, Rescheduled

4/28/2026

Summary

Story summary

Oz Pearlman was about to announce Karoline Leavitt’s daughter’s name when gunfire erupted at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
A 31-year-old Los Angeles teacher opened fire at Washington Hilton during dinner while President Donald Trump was present, resulting in no fatalities, the shooter’s custody, and a brief Secret Service push that knocked Trump to the floor before escorting him out.
He said Trump will attend rescheduled dinner in 30 days.

History

Historical Context

On June 5 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot at Los Angeles’s Ambassador Hotel by 24-year-old Palestinian Sirhan Sirhan, who fired 13 shots, killing him a day later. The killing followed a decade of high-profile U.S. political murders—including those of President John F. Kennedy (1963), Malcolm X (1965) and Martin Luther King Jr. (April 1968)—and spurred the Secret Service to extend protection to presidential candidates and contributed to the 1968 Gun Control Act.

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Story summary

Oz Pearlman was about to announce Karoline Leavitt’s daughter’s name when gunfire erupted at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
A 31-year-old Los Angeles teacher opened fire at Washington Hilton during dinner while President Donald Trump was present, resulting in no fatalities, the shooter’s custody, and a brief Secret Service push that knocked Trump to the floor before escorting him out.
He said Trump will attend rescheduled dinner in 30 days.

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