Barack Obama has officially offered his take on the recent shooting at the 2026 White House Correspondents Dinner (WHCD), and he took the opportunity to address increasing national violence.

On Saturday, April 25, the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in D.C. abruptly ended after a man opened fire at the event.

Barack Obama Releases Statement Following WHCD Shooting

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, former President Barack Obama addressed the recent shooting at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner.

“Although we don’t yet have the details about the motives behind last night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, it’s incumbent upon all us to reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy,” his statement read.

“It’s also a sobering reminder of the courage and sacrifice that U.S. Secret Service Agents show every day,” Obama continued. “I’m grateful to them – and thankful that the agent who was shot is going to be okay.”

The WHCD Erupted Into Chaos As Shooting Took Place

While in the ballroom at the Washington Hilton in D.C., guests reported hearing gunshots and smelling gunpowder. Chaos ensued when dozens of politicians, including Donald Trump, were evacuated from the building, and footage showed that some attendees were on the floor to escape the incident.

Following the shooting, Anthony Guglielmi, the Secret Service Chief of Communications, addressed the gunfire, confirming a “shooting incident near the main magnetometer screening area at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.” 

Guglielmi also shared that a person had been arrested and was in police custody shortly after the shooting took place. 

Suspect In The WHCD Shooting Has Been Identified And Currently In Police Custody

According to PEOPLE, Cole Tomas Allen, a teacher from California,  has been identified as the shooter at the WHCD, in which he injured a Secret Service Agent. 

Per Attorney General Todd Blanche, early investigation has revealed the incident was a targeted attack, but an official motive has not yet been confirmed.

“We do believe, based upon just a very preliminary start to understanding what happened, that he was targeting members of the administration,” Blanche said while on “Face The Nation.”

PEOPLE spoke with White House officials who told the outlet Allen wrote a “manifesto” prior to the shooting. “The suspect’s written manifesto clearly stated he wanted to target administration officials,” the officials said.

Additionally, Allen’s family members appear to support the claims of political writings and radical statements prior to the shooting.

His brother reportedly told police Allen sent the writings to his family mere moments before he opened fire at the political event, per CBS News. 

Allen’s sister also shared that her brother recently made alleged radical statements and repeatedly referred to a plan to do “something” about the current state of the world.

She also claimed that Allen bought two handguns and a shotgun, which she said were at their parents’ home. One of Allen’s alleged weapons is said to have been the one used in the WHCD shooting, which has not been confirmed.

Trump Lashes Out In ‘60 Minutes’ Interview After Portion Of Suspect’s Manifesto Is Read

Per Deadline, in an interview with Norah O’Donnell on Sunday, April 26, Donald Trump slammed the “60 Minutes” host for reading a portion of the reported manifesto from the WHCD shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen.

O’Donnell addressed the writing, asking Trump: “The so-called manifesto is a stunning thing to read, Mr. President. He appears to reference a motive in it. He writes this quote, ‘Administration officials, they are targets.’ And he also wrote this, ‘I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.’ What’s your reaction to that?”

Trump provided a fiery verbal attack on O’Donnell in response.

“Well, I was waiting for you to read that because I knew you would because you’re … horrible people,” he said. “Horrible people. Yeah, he did write that. I’m not a rapist. I didn’t rape anybody.”

“I’m not a pedophile. You read that crap from some sick person? I got associated with … stuff that has nothing to do with me. I was totally exonerated,” Trump continued. 

“Your friends on the other side of the plate are the ones that were involved with, let’s say, Epstein or other things. But I said to myself, ‘You know, I’ll do this interview and they’ll probably’ — I read the manifesto,” he said. “You know, he’s a sick person. But you should be ashamed of yourself reading that because I’m not any of those things.”

Many Online Believe The WHCD Dinner Was Possibly Staged

As the footage of the WHCD shooting went viral, a wave of online reactions filtered in, with many alleging that the incident was potentially staged. 

“This gotta be a movie scene. Look way too staged,” one user commented on TMZ’s video from inside the event as the shooting erupted. 

“Great acting, guys, but we have to do it again. This time with more emotion! Annnnnndddd, action,” another added.

A third person shared, “This was staged. I have never seen such a chaotic administration,” while a fourth netizen added, “Staged to the left staged to the right….now! Crawl…now crawl again…”

A fourth user also noted, “So you actually grabbed the vice president first and left the president sitting there…Another failed skit!”