UFC CEO Dana White was positioned just a few feet away from President Donald Trump when members of the Secret Service and local law enforcement hurried into the ballroom at the Washington Hilton following a shooting incident that occurred before the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday.
After Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were swiftly escorted to safety, along with several members of his cabinet, the lone gunman was apprehended.
Later in a press conference, Trump disclosed that the officer, who was shot at by the suspect, was shielded by his bulletproof vest and he was still receiving treatment at a nearby hospital.
Dana White reacts after White House dinner shooting
White was present at the event as a guest of the President and was seated at a table with representatives from Paramount Skydance, the broadcast partners of the UFC.
Although Trump initially wished to return to the hotel to resume the dinner, he mentioned that due to certain protocols, the event would need to be cancelled and rescheduled for a future date.
{{/usCountry}}Although Trump initially wished to return to the hotel to resume the dinner, he mentioned that due to certain protocols, the event would need to be cancelled and rescheduled for a future date.
{{/usCountry}}Regarding the situation, White remarked that he was not entirely aware of what was occurring at that time, but he observed the Secret Service rush into the room after the shooting commenced.
‘It was f*cking awesome,’ says Dana White
“Inside, the whole event just started getting noisy, tables getting flipped over, guys running in with guns and they were screaming ‘get down!’” White told USA Today.
“I didn’t get down. It was f*cking awesome. I literally took every minute of it in. It was a pretty crazy, unique experience.”
White mentioned that he was seated directly in front of Trump when the chaos ensued, and he genuinely believed that the shooter could be in close proximity.
“We were sitting right in front of the table. Right in front of where the president was,” White stated. “Nobody got tackled but guys came in looking for shooters and then came towards our table. I thought the shooter was by us or something.”
Trump hails Secret Service
The shooter was identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, California. He was reportedly a guest at the hotel where the incident occurred. Trump stated that the suspect was equipped with several firearms and breached a security checkpoint prior to discharging his weapon.
Trump commended the Secret Service and other law enforcement personnel who promptly responded to the shooter, undoubtedly preserving lives through their swift actions.
“The response time was really incredible, and we’re going to reschedule,” The POTUS said. “We’re going to do it again, we’re not going to let anybody take over our society; we’re not going to cancel things because we can’t do that. We wanted to stay tonight. I will tell you, I fought like hell to stay, but it was protocol.”