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Donald Trump posted a picture he claimed was of the alleged shooter |
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Connor Stringer Chief Washington Correspondent |
The US marine band had just broken into song when the first thud rang out.
A dull crack sliced through the laughter and police chatter at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which had been packed full in anticipation of Donald Trump’s return to the event.
Before anyone had time to realise what had happened, an army of black tie-clad secret service agents leapt to their feet, scrambling across tables and sending wine bottles flying every which way.
“Get down!” they screamed, as they clambered over chairs and white table cloth-covered tables towards the US president, who had been rushed off stage, along with the first lady, by his close protection detail.
Trump is evacuated after gunshots fired |
The cause of the panic soon became clear. A gunman armed with “multiple” weapons had charged through the main security checkpoint on the ground floor of the Washington Hilton. His target? The US president.
Journalists’ faces were lit by their phone screens as they rushed to file news lines on the attack, while on their knees beneath tables. Some hid under the table cloth while others stood on their feet eager to film the chaos that was unfolding.
Dr Mehmet Oz, who leads the US government’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, leaned in as he was moved towards the exit by secret service. “Shots,” he told me, before being ushered out of the ballroom.
By now, heavily armed officers in tactical gear and armed with AR-15 rifles lined the stage where the president had sat moments before, scanning the room for signs of suspicious movement.
Journalists began to rise to their feet. Phones to their ear, they began calling in to their respective news desks, describing the chaos that was unfolding before us.
Trump, along with First Lady Melania Trump, and the vice president JD Vance, had been rushed to a secure location somewhere deep in the building. The hotel was in lockdown.
Outside, unknown to us in the room at the time, Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old man from Torrance, California and an apparent guest of the hotel, lay face down after being shot by secret service agents.
Guests take shelter under tables after loud bangs were heard |
He had run past the security checkpoint, which included airport-like metal detectors, in an apparent bid to reach the president who sat in the ballroom just a few seconds away on foot.
Guests and journalists alike began to speculate about security. Upon arriving at the Hilton, I had remarked to a colleague just how light the measures were. No ID checks. No pat downs on entry. A simple flash of a cardboard ticket, the exact same from last year’s event, was all that was needed to enter.
Indeed, at least one reporter who missed out on a seat had managed to get in without a ticket.
By now, the secret service lifted its lockdown and guests and journalists alike made their way to the exits. Some returned to their seats to start the spring Pea and Burrata Salad that had been served moments before the chaos ensued.
Any hope of the event restarting was quickly put to bed by the president, who announced he would hold a press conference in the White House briefing room some two miles away.
“Law Enforcement has requested that we leave the premises, consistent with protocol, which we will do, immediately. I will be giving a press conference in 30 minutes from the White House Press Briefing Room,” he wrote. “The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition. We will be speaking to you in a half an hour.”
And so, the rush to the White House began. After a brief stop to collect my hard pass, the identification needed to access the White House grounds, I rushed to the briefing room on my noble steed – a rental electric scooter.
Dozens of other journalists, still clad in black tie, began to arrive. The show, as the president insisted, would go on. But for those in the room, it was nothing like the script.
Read the full story from our Chief Washington Correspondent – who was at the dinner – here ➤
Follow our live blog for updates➤
‘Stay down’: Trump dinner descends into pandemonium ➤ |
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Chemicals underpin 95 per cent of all manufactured goods. Yet many critical chemical facilities have vanished from Britain in recent years – victims of what the Ineos billionaire Jim Ratcliffe has called “the deindustrialisation of the UK”. As Ben Marlow reports, business leaders fear the hollowing out of the UK’s industrial base is in danger of almost being missed in the corridors of Westminster. For subscribers only ➤ |
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David Jason, 86, has graced some of the most-watched TV shows in recent history |
Would David Jason ever consider bringing back Only Fools and Horses? Reviving Derek Trotter is not something he’s completely opposed to. The death of the show’s writer, John Sullivan, in 2011, presents a challenge, but as Jason says with a Del Boy glint in his eye: “Well yeah, providing we have a good script, let’s go for it!” Away from Peckham, in this interview with Jon Peake, Jason also discusses the discovery that he fathered a daughter in 1970. Continue reading ➤ |
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This morning around 60,000 intrepid runners will set off from Blackheath to The Mall for the 46th edition of the London Marathon. The elite athletes will hope to complete the 26.2-mile course in little over two hours; some of the amateurs may take most of the day. Follow it all in our live blog, and learn more about the event with our interactive runner’s guide to the course.
Follow the London Marathon live here ➤
Guide to the route for runners and viewers➤ |
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For the first time, all of the top 10 longest-range EVs on sale in the UK will (officially) cover more than 400 miles on a full charge, and the best will do nearly 500. Plenty of folk still believe an electric car isn’t for them, but the numbers are starting to add up for many. Continue reading ➤ |
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A glossy narrative surrounds later motherhood – Sienna Miller even describes it as a “biohack” – but the lived reality of having a toddler in your early 50s is very different, writes Olivia Buxton. I gave birth five years ago and will be 60 by the time my son Jude hits his teens. Later motherhood is not a mistake, but neither is it a simple triumph. It is complex, demanding, beautiful and brutal. Continue reading ➤ |
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The internet is turning many people into cognitive couch potatoes. Instead of trying to remember information, Google is always on hand. Rather than craft a reply to an email, one click brings up a suggestion supplied by AI. As digital habits reshape how we think, neuroscientist Dr Hannah Critchlow explains why emotional intelligence, creativity and long-term thinking are now vital to keeping our brains sharp. Continue reading ➤
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Marathon running is dangerous and exhibitionisticEvery week, one of our writers takes an unfashionable position, either defending a subject that’s been unfairly maligned or criticising something that most people love.
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Christian Vince Senior Newsletter Editor |
It’s marathon season. That sickening time of year when an increasing proportion of the population trade in their personalities for a pair of offensively lurid running shoes.
As someone who has run a 100km ultra marathon (that’s roughly two and a half regular marathons, if you’re wondering), I know how it inflates one’s ego. However, after I finished, I was left with an overwhelming feeling of “what was it all for?”, and a knee injury that has persisted ever since.
Since I finished that race, the unhealthy phenomenon has exploded. Everyone has surrendered their autonomy to the cult of long-distance running. Social media especially is awash with nauseating influencers who glide in and out of my algorithm evangelically spreading the runner’s gospel.
It appears we have all forgotten that the modern marathon was borne out of the Greek legend in which a messenger ran to Athens to announce an oncoming armada, only to drop dead upon arrival. One study, conducted on 1,049 runners during the 2024 New York City marathon, revealed that 447 (43 per cent) of them experienced some formof trauma either in training or during the race itself. Of those injured, 50 per cent sought medical attention or the help of a physiotherapist. I am here to defend the vanishing minority who don’t fancy putting their physical health on the line in the name of a week’s worth of bragging rights.
What about those running for charity? I concede, there are some marathon runners doing it for noble reasons, but there are less self-centred ways of raising money for a cause. How about a sponsored silence, or a charity Aqua Zumba-thon? I would much rather give my hard-earned cash to an original friend doing something unique.
It’s not just the participants that irk me, it’s the performative sideline warriors too. While they vacantly pout and preen and wield their cringe-worthy signs, tomato-faced runners are clawing their desperate ways across the finish line.
When news broke of London Marathon organisers considering splitting the event over two days to accommodate more runners, I seethed. Brilliant. Let’s make London even busier, so that more people can attempt to fill the void left behind by a midlife crisis.
So, if you are not running any sort of marathon this year, I say: “Well done!” You are refusing to plug yourself in to the propaganda being pedaled by the hive mind. If you are tempted to sign yourself up for next year’s, please resist the urge. I know you can do it.
Do you agree with Christian? Send your replies here, and the best of the bunch will feature in a future edition of From the Editor PM, for which you can sign up here.
Please confirm in your reply that you are happy to be featured and that we have your permission to use your name. |
Morris teaching a group of children about animal behaviour at London Zoo |
Desmond Morris, the zoologist who has died aged 98, sold at least 20 million copies of his masterwork The Naked Ape, and it was a book that was on practically every shelf in the 1970s. He described humans just like any other species, particularly in relation to their primate cousins.
A robust Darwinist, he characterised man as simply a “risen ape”, standing on two feet and boldly displaying sexual signals. He claimed, for example, that the prominent breasts of the human female were in fact “a pair of mini-buttocks on the chest that enable the woman to transmit those primeval sexual signals without turning her back on her companion”.
Morris in 1959 in a publicity shot for Zoo Time |
He helped popularise the notion of body language, providing ample fodder for armchair psychologists. He also had an eye for gripping snippets, such as the 18th-century English fashion for shaving off eyebrows and replacing them with fakes made from mouse fur.
Some critics accused Morris of ignoring deeper questions such as why “human sexual experience should be so utterly and uniquely different from the baboon’s eight-second poke”. However, his books entertained and provoked thought, and he wrote more than 50 of them, branching out with Catwatching, Dogwatching and Babywatching. Read more about his fascinating life here ➤ |
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Find as many words as you can in today’s Panagram, including the nine-letter solution. Visit Telegraph Puzzles to play a range of head-scratching games, including The 1% Club, Cogs, and Quick, Mini or Cryptic Crosswords.
Yesterday’s Panagram was ECCENTRIC. Come back tomorrow for the solution to today’s puzzle. |
Thank you for reading. Allister Heath, Sunday Telegraph Editor
P.S. Please share your thoughts on the newsletter here. |
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