Shazam! star Zachary Levi is detailing the confusion and commotion that occurred inside the Washington Hilton ballroom as shots rang out during this year’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“We were sitting at the table and there was some loud banging that definitely caught my attention,” Levi, 45, told USA Today on Saturday, April 25. The actor was sitting at USA Today’s table along with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and his wife, Kelly Johnson.
“In the back of my head I thought, you know, jokingly thinking, ‘That kind of sounds like gunshots.’ But that wasn’t necessarily confirmed,” Levi continued. “It could have been some things in the hallway, some tables that were falling, that were banging down. I don’t know.”
The actor added, “The next thing we saw, everybody started to turn and drop. There was commotion. Everybody started to kind of hide under tables and the Secret Service were pouring in and trying to get to anyone of importance — anyone in the administration, any legislators, including the president. They were getting them all out of there as quickly as they could.”
Shortly after Saturday’s annual event celebrating freedom of the press started, a 31-year-old gunman rushed a security checkpoint. Gunfire was exchanged before the alleged shooter — reportedly armed with a shotgun, handgun and multiple knives — was apprehended. One Secret Service agent was shot in the chest, but his ballistic vest saved his life and he was later released from the hospital and reportedly sent home.
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Cheryl Hines, as well as other members of Trump’s administration and various lawmakers were promptly evacuated from the premises.
“The Secret Service were pouring in.” Actor Zachary Levi was sitting with USA TODAY at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner when he started to hear loud bangs. Trump said a shooter was apprehended.
No one else was harmed during the incident. The gunman, who wrote an alleged manifesto in which he detailed his desire to harm Trump and top members of his cabinet, is scheduled to be arraigned in federal court on Monday, April 27. He is said to be facing multiple charges.
“Then everything seemed to calm down,” Levi continued on Saturday of his experience. “Everyone started popping up from the tables — we didn’t know what was going on. And we just recently were told they are going to continue with the dinner with some updates soon. I don’t know, it’s very confusing because if it was an actual active live shooting then I don’t know why we would necessarily be continuing with the dinner.”
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While president Trump and members of the White House Correspondents’ Administration initially wanted the event to continue, safety concerns required the rest of the event be canceled. The president has claimed it will be rescheduled within 30 days.
While speaking to members of the press in an impromptu White House press briefing after the shooting, the president praised the first lady for her calm under pressure after she was seen visibly shaken by the sound of the gunshots.
“I want to thank the first lady, that was a rather traumatic experience for her,” he said. “We’re not going to let anybody take over our society, we’re not going to cancel things out … we can’t do that. We wanted to stay tonight, I fought like hell to stay, but it was protocol … there was a lot of action going on.”
