Suspected gunman likely targeting Trump administration officials at White House press dinner, acting attorney general says – live

Todd Blanche says 31-year-old suspect will be charged with assault of a federal officer, discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer

• Suspected gunman at White House press dinner named

• ‘We went under the table screaming’: reactions from the White House correspondents’ dinner shooting

US Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi has confirmed that the officer who sustained injuries in last night’s attack had been released from hospital.

The BBC carries this statement:

I can confirm the officer has been discharged, and the ballistic vest helped us avoid a potential tragedy last night.

The defendant is now before a federal court, and comments at this stage will come from the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

We’re still investigating a motive, and that’s something that will necessarily take a couple of days at least. We believe he was targeting administration officials in this attack, attempted attack, but that’s again, quite preliminary.

He barely broke the perimeter. And by barely, I mean by a few feet.

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