World reacts to shooting at White House correspondents’ dinner

The United States is taking stock of a shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington, DC, where President Donald Trump was rushed from the scene.

A gunman charged a security checkpoint outside the ballroom for the annual media gala on Saturday night, before being taken down by US Secret Service agents as shots were fired.

CBS News reported the alleged attacker told authorities he was targeting officials in the Trump administration.

Here’s how leaders in the US and around the world are responding to the news:

United States:

Figures across the political aisle condemned the attack at the event, which was also attended by First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and many other senior government officials, along with hundreds of journalists and celebrities.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who attended the event with his wife Kelly, said both were “praying for our country tonight”.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said: “The violence and chaos in America must end.”

Washington, DC Mayor, Muriel Bowser, said she is “so very thankful to members of law enforcement who did their jobs … and made sure all guests were safe”. She said there was no immediate reason to believe anyone apart from the gunman was involved in the attack.

Weijia Jiang, the senior White House correspondent at CBS News and president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, who was sitting next to Trump as the incident unfolded, emphasised the public service role of journalism, saying “when there is an emergency, we run to the crisis, not away from it”.

“On a night when we are thinking about the freedoms in the First Amendment, we must also think about how fragile they are,” she said. “Thank God everybody is safe, and thank you for coming together tonight. We’ll do this again.”

United Kingdom:

Britain’s Ambassador to the US, Christian Turner, said some British embassy officials were at the event and expressed appreciation for “the swift and professional response of the US Secret Service”.

“We are thankful that the President and all those in attendance were unharmed & our best wishes are with the injured officer,” he wrote on social media.

Australia

Prime Minister Antony Albanese also applauded the US Secret Service and other law enforcement “for their swift action”.

“I am pleased to hear the President and the First Lady, along with all attendees at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, are safe,” he said.

Canada: