Just hours after landing in Washington DC ahead of the King and Queen’s state visit, I was enjoying an early night at my hotel. Having settled into my super-king-size bed, with my pyjamas on, a freshly brewed cup of tea and Netflix on the TV (perhaps fittingly I was rewatching American spy thriller Homeland) my cosy cocoon was disrupted by the incessant ringing of sirens.
Just an occupational hazard of residing in DC, I thought, before the news alert came through my phone informing me that shots had been fired at an event the President was attending in the city. Eyes wide as I read through the initial reports emerging from the White House Correspondents’ dinner, I realised the incident was unfolding just a few streets away.
Reaching for my laptop, I ensured the story was front and centre on the Daily Express website before jumping out of bed and quickly getting dressed.
Shutting the hotel door behind me, I headed for the Hilton in Washington, which Google Maps said was about a 20-minute walk away.
Police had immediately leapt into action, shutting down roads and preventing traffic from getting anywhere near the incident.
Sirens rang out across the city as dozens of emergency vehicles rushed to the scene. Buildings were illuminated in blue and red thanks to the bright glare of the flashing emergency lights, and my ears were ringing with the familiar wails of the police cars.
As I got closer to the Hilton, dozens of people dressed in black tie and ball gowns were walking towards me, many on the phone to their loved ones, recalling the harrowing events that had just unfolded before their eyes.
”I’m alright,” one person told their wife, who was noisily crying down the phone. “I’m safe, and I’m heading home. I wasn’t near the shooter.”
Some were whizzing away on E-scooters in a bid to flee the scene more quickly, as taxis were stuck in the gridlocked traffic due to the presence of police on every street corner.
A large police cordon surrounded the hotel. Dozens of emergency vehicles sealed off the surrounding streets, and yellow police tape kept anyone more than 200m from the hotel.
Locals who lived in nearby buildings were prevented from entering their homes and were held outside the cordon for over an hour.
Many vented their frustrations at being unable to get home to their beds, with one telling me: “They’re not telling us how long it will be until we can go in. We’ve offered to be escorted the whole way, but we’re not allowed. I just want to get into bed!”
A waiter who was serving at the dinner last night stopped to ask me if I was ok as he left the cordon. Explaining I was a journalist, the man, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I almost died tonight, I was serving the president. It was crazy, man, crazy.”
Even after the President spoke to the media from the safety of the White House almost two hours after the shooting, the heavy police presence remained outside the hotel and across DC.
Buckingham Palace had no initial response, given it was the middle of the night in London, and said it would respond in the morning.
As I walked back to my hotel shortly before midnight – all hopes of an early night shattered – I was unsure if the sole reason I had flown to the US was even going to go ahead.
‘ 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 ’
