The shooting that occurred near the White House this Saturday, the 23rd, happened less than a month after a gunman invaded a hotel that hosted the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on April 25, with Donald Trump in attendance. This is the fourth time the American president has been involved in this kind of situation. Trump was inside the White House at the time of the shooting.
During the 2024 campaign, he survived two assassination attempts. On July 13 of that year, Trump became the first sitting or former U.S. president to suffer an assassination attempt since 1981, when a bullet grazed his ear as he spoke in Butler.
The 20-year-old shooter managed to fire several shots at Trump before the Secret Service returned fire and killed the shooter. But the fact that he had come so close to killing Trump prompted immediate calls for changes to the Secret Service. The agency’s competence was put into question.
On September 15, 2024, a man armed with a rifle hid among the bushes at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, planning to shoot Trump. The suspect, Ryan Routh, was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to life in prison.
In April this year, a shooter rushed toward the ballroom where Trump dined with hundreds of journalists, government officials, and guests. The shooter was detained near the hotel security area by agents and arrested.
A Secret Service agent was hit by a shot and taken to the hospital, but was wearing a bulletproof vest and was not injured.
This time, at least two people were injured, including a suspect, according to the American network CBS News. Fox News reported that he had fired three times and, then, was hit by Secret Service agents. The shooter was taken to a hospital, but had not yet been identified, according to Reuters.
Journalists who were working at the scene on Saturday reported hearing a series of gunshots (estimated at 15 to 30, according to CBS) and were instructed to seek shelter in the press briefing room, where U.S. Secret Service agents prevented anyone from leaving.
