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Trump says Secret Service agent at dinner was not hit by friendly fire

By Reuters Reuters

Updated April 30, 2026 1:30 PM

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro points at a picture of a shotgun carried by Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the shooting incident in Washington at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, as she and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel, Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) of the FBI Washington Field Office Darren Cox take part in a press conference about the shooting incident, at the U.S. Department of Justice, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 27, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo — FILE PHOTO: U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro points at a picture of a shotgun carried by Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the shooting incident in Washington at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner, as she and acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel, Assistant Director in Charge (ADIC) of the FBI Washington Field Office Darren Cox take part in a press conference about the shooting incident, at the U.S. Department of Justice, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 27, 2026. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper/File Photo Kylie Cooper Reuters

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WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the Secret Service agent injured during the attack at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner had not been hit by friendly fire.

An armed man sprinted through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton hotel last Saturday attempting, prosecutors allege, to assassinate Trump.

During the attack, a Secret Service officer was shot in the chest while wearing a ballistic vest, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent in court, which did not specify by whom. There has been media reporting suggesting the agent may have been shot by friendly fire.

"They said it wasn't friendly fire. It wasn't us," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

When asked if there was consideration for him to wear a bullet-proof vest, Trump did not appear to be keen. "I don't know if I can handle looking 20 pounds heavier," he said.

"I guess it's something you consider. In one way you don't like to do it because you're giving into a bad element," he added.

The incident, the latest in a pattern of political violence in the United States, has revived concerns about the safety of the U.S. president and other top officials.

(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk and Christian Martinez;Editing by David Ljunggren)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 1:13 PM.