The incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner saw the US President, who had been the previous target of an assassination attempt, swiftly evacuated by Secret Service agents along with other senior members of the administration. The King’s visit comes during a turbulent time for the US President, as the monarch faced calls to postpone his trip, even before the shooting attempt took place, due to Mr Trump’s war against Iran.
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Saturday’s suspect, said to have been carrying a shotgun and handgun, has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California.
He is understood to have been a guest in the Washington Hilton hotel where the event was being held and faces charges including assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon, but acting attorney general Todd Blanche said additional charges will be filed.
Mr Trump posted pictures on his Truth Social platform of the alleged assailant handcuffed on the ground following his detention and promised to reschedule the disrupted event.
He said: “My impression is he was a lone wolf whack job. These are crazy people.”
It is not clear yet, at the time of writing, whether there will be any changes to the King’s state visit.
Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones told Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips on Sky News: “These are remarkable scenes. The Prime Minister has, this morning, sent a message to the president of the United States in solidarity for the events that took place.
“As you would imagine, with the visit of His Majesty the King this week, our teams are working closely to ensure that security arrangements are put appropriately in place.”
Asked if there are any extra concerns for the King’s safety during his upcoming state visit to the US, Mr Jones said: “As you would imagine, the Government and the Palace take the security of His Majesty very seriously, and there were already extensive discussions taking place, which will continue over the coming days.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
