![\"\"](\"http:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2272609576-Karoline-Leavitt-Promised-There-Would-Be-Shots-Fired-Before-WHCD-Shooting-e1777180451567-300x200.webp\")
<\/p>\nWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt promised there would be \u201cshots fired\u201d in President Donald Trump\u2019s White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner speech minutes before real gunfire erupted at the gala.<\/p>\n
\u201c[Trump] is ready to rumble,\u201d Leavitt, 28, told Fox News on the red carpet at the Washington Hilton on Saturday, April 25. \u201cI will tell you, this speech tonight will be classic Donald J. Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scott Baio Denies Former Costar Nicole Eggert’s Sexual Abuse Allegations: ‘i Hope She’s Miserable’<\/p>\n
She then declared, \u201c[The speech] will be funny. It will be entertaining. There will be some shots fired tonight in the room.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leavitt \u2014 who is pregnant \u2014 was evacuated from the Washington Hilton ballroom moments later alongside Donald, 79, first lady Melania Trump and other administration officials when shots rang out near the venue\u2019s \u201cmain magnetometer\u201d, per the Secret Service.<\/p>\n
Washington D.C. law enforcement officials confirmed that a 31-year-old man from California was apprehended during the shooting incident and has been charged with two counts of using a firearm and one count of assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. (The suspect\u2019s motives and condition remain unknown.)<\/p>\n
A Secret Service agent was shot during the crossfire. The president later confirmed in a news conference that the injured agent was recovering in the hospital.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe vest did its job. I just spoke to the officer and he\u2019s doing great,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n
Saturday\u2019s White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner was supposed to be a temporary farewell for Leavitt because she is expected to deliver her second child very soon. (Leavitt and her husband, Nicholas Riccio, also share a son, Niko, who was born in July 2024.)<\/p>\n
\u201cThis will likely be my last gaggle for some time,\u201d she told reporters on Friday, April 24. \u201cAs you can see, I\u2019m about ready to have a baby any minute, so I will see you guys very soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She added, \u201cI know you\u2019ll be in good hands with my team here at the White House. And I know all of you have the president\u2019s phone number personally, so I have no doubt that you will have no shortage of statements and news from this building while I\u2019m gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Leavitt was unexpectedly thrust back onto the job following the shooting at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner dinner as she personally confirmed that Trump planned to hold a press conference late Saturday night.<\/p>\n
During his remarks, Trump said he was \u201chonored to be a target\u201d despite multiple attempts on his life in the last few years. (Trump survived being shot in the ear during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024. Another suspected shooter was apprehended at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in September 2024.)<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at our great presidents, [this] doesn\u2019t happen to people who don\u2019t do anything,\u201d Trump said.<\/p>\n
The star-studded guest list for Saturday\u2019s White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner included Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk, whose late husband, conservative activist Charlie Kirk, was fatally shot at age 31 in September 2025. CNN reported that she was seen crying and telling aides she \u201cjust want[ed] to leave\u201d following the shooting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt promised there would be \u201cshots fired\u201d in President Donald Trump\u2019s White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner speech minutes before real gunfire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11596,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11595","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11595"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11595\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11599,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11595\/revisions\/11599"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11595"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11595"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/storieshub.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11595"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}