Zachary Levi was inside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner when the shooting scare involving President Donald Trump unfolded Saturday night in Washington, D.C.
The Shazam! actor attended the dinner as a guest at the USA Today table, where he was seated with House Speaker Mike Johnson. Levi later described the scene, saying attendees heard loud banging before people began ducking for cover.
Trump is safe following the incident. The suspect, identified by authorities as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was taken into custody after allegedly charging toward the ballroom armed with multiple weapons. One Secret Service agent was struck but protected by a bullet-resistant vest, according to AP.
Zachary Levi Was At The USA Today Table
Levi was asked what happened shortly after the chaos broke out.
“We don’t know, to be honest,” Levi said. “I mean, we were sitting at the table, and there was some loud banging.”
Levi said the noise immediately caught his attention.
“That definitely caught my attention,” he said. “You know, the back of my head, I thought, you know, jokingly thinking, ‘oh, that kind of sounds like gunshots.’”
However, Levi said he did not know at first if the noise was gunfire.
“But that wasn’t necessarily confirmed,” he said. “It could have been some things in the hallway, some tables that were falling, that were banging down, I don’t know.”
Levi Says People Started Dropping Under Tables
Levi said the situation escalated fast once people inside the ballroom reacted.
“The next thing we saw, everybody started to turn and drop,” Levi said. “There was commotion.”
He continued, “Everybody started to kind of hide under tables and the Secret Service were pouring in and trying to get to anyone you know, of [importance]. Anyone in the administration, any legislators, including the president.”
Levi said Secret Service moved quickly to evacuate officials.
“They were getting them all out of there as quickly as they could,” he said. “And then everything seemed to calm down.”
Levi added that attendees eventually started coming out from under the tables, but many still did not know what had happened.
“Everyone started popping up from the tables. We didn’t know what was going on,” he said.
Levi Questioned Why The Dinner Might Continue
Levi said attendees were then told the dinner might continue, which added to the confusion.
“And we’ve just recently been told that they are going to continue with the dinner, with some update soon,” Levi said.
He added, “I don’t. It’s it’s very confusing because if it was an actual active live shooting, then I don’t know why we wouldn’t necessarily be continuing with the dinner, but maybe it wasn’t.”
Levi said the situation may have already been contained.
“Or maybe it’s all very contained and everything’s very safe. And so that’s all I got,” he said.
Speaker Johnson Was Also Evacuated
Levi was also asked about Speaker Johnson, who was seated at the USA Today table with him.
“Yes. Speaker Johnson and his wife are safe,” Levi said. “They were evacuated by the Secret Service.”
Watch the video:
@usatoday "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.
♬ original sound – USA TODAY
Trump Is Safe After Shooting Scare
Trump was rushed from the stage after the incident and later confirmed he was safe. Vice President JD Vance and Cabinet members were also unharmed.
Authorities say Allen is expected to face charges including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said more charges may follow as the investigation continues.
The motive has not been announced.
