Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement late Saturday on the shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner.
“It is a great relief that the President, First Lady and everyone in attendance at the White House Correspondents Dinner is safe following a terrifying act of violence inside the venue,” said Pelosi, D-San Francisco.
Pelosi’s office didn’t immediately respond when asked if she was present at the dinner, where an armed man stormed the lobby at the event, which was attended by an estimated 3,000 people including President Donald Trump, his wife Melania, Vice President JD Vance and numerous other cabinet members and dignitaries. A law enforcement officer was shot.
The president was uninjured and was rushed off the stage. The armed man, who officials have identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was a guest at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was being held. He was taken into custody and was expected in court Monday. Police believe he opened fire and acted alone but did not say who was his intended target or describe a motive.
“When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” Trump, safe and uninjured and still in his tuxedo, said at the White House two hours later. “They seem to think he was a lone wolf.”
For Pelosi, long a harsh Trump critic, Saturday’s incident rekindled painful memories.
“As someone whose family has suffered political violence, my prayers are with the injured officer and all those affected by the trauma of these horrible incidents,” Pelosi said.
A 44-year-old Berkeley man was sentenced to life in prison for attacking the speaker’s husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer at the Pelosi home in San Francisco on Oct. 29, 2022.
“The brave men and women of the United States Secret Service and local law enforcement are to be commended for their swift action to secure the scene and protect those present,” Pelosi said of Saturday’s shooting.
Pelosi announced in November that she would not seek re-election to California’s 11th Congressional District.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.