- US President Trump said the White House shooter carried multiple weapons
- The shooter also fired at a security officer during the media gala
- Trump praised the Secret Service for their quick and brave response
US President Donald Trump said the shooter who created chaos at the White House press dinner carried multiple weapons, and also thanked the Secret Service for their bravery in handling the threat.
Trump described the shooter as a "lone wolf", but said nothing is final at the moment as investigators are looking at all angles.
Giving details of the incident, Trump said the shooting suspect was his "would-be assassin", but thanks to the Secret Service who stopped him. The suspect also shot a security officer at the media gala, he said.
A video posted by the US president showed the suspect running past a security barricade as Secret Service agents ran toward him.
"He was a very sick man," Trump said of the shooter. "The room was very secure. He charged from 50 yards away. The reaction time of the Secret Service was very fast," Trump added.
However, Trump contradicted himself in another comment when he said "it's not a particularly secure building."
"One officer was shot but saved by the fact that he was wearing a, obviously, a very good bulletproof vest. We looked at all of the conditions that took place tonight, and I will say, you know, it's not a particularly secure building," he said.
Amid the chaos, the US president was quickly surrounded by Secret Service personnel, their weapons drawn, and they quickly rushed him off the stage and through a back curtain as the crowd crouched in shock.
Also seen being rushed out of the ballroom was Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, whose uncle, president John F Kennedy, was killed by an assassin in 1963 in Texas.
Trump, describing what was going through his mind as the shots rang out, said he initially believed it was a tray being dropped, noting that the noise was "quite far away." But the First Lady was "very cognizant" that it was a shooting, he said.
"I think she knew immediately what happened," the president said, recalling that his wife told him, "That's a bad noise."
With inputs from AFP
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
