The Director of the Secret Service, Sean Curran, commends his agents actions tonight.

"We saw exactly what our brave men and women do each and every day to protect our protectees. It's not easy, and I will tell you that they performed admirably."

It's very fortunate that the officer who was shot is alive, and he's being observed, Curran says.

He thanks Trump for reaching out to him, and says the Secret Service will continue its mission.

Jeff Carol, interim chief of for the Metropolitan Police Department, says the suspect has multiple weapons.

"He was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives," he says.

He says the Secret Service agent who was injured was sent to a local hospital and he is in "good spirits".

The suspect was not struck by gunfire, Carol says, and that it appears the suspect is a lone gunman. He says there is no danger to the public at this time.

President Trump's briefing has ended but we will continue to bring a few more of his comments from the White House podium.

Meanwhile, we are tuning into a press conference with local authorities which has just begun.

Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser says the agent who was shot is being treated at hospital, and the suspect is also in hospital being evaluated.

She says she's thankful to law enforcement, and all guests are safe.

There's no reason to believe anyone else was involved, she adds.

Moments before addressing the media in the press briefing room, Trump shared CCTV footage appearing to show the suspect running into the hotel ballroom.

The man runs past the security metal detectors as security agents draw their guns.

Trump also shared two photos appearing to show a shirtless man on the foyer floor with his hands behind his back, believed to be the suspected shooter.

Morgan Gisholt Minard
BBC News, reporting from White House

It’s very unusual to see the first lady in the briefing room. This marks the first of the three known shooting incidents at events attended by the president where the First Lady was also present.

The president said she knew "right away" what was going on.

Trump is asked how this event will impact him as a leader.

"I like not to think about it," Trump answers. "I lead a pretty normal life considering, you know, it's a dangerous life. I think I handle it as well as it can be handled."

He says you read stories of this happening to other people and they "become basket cases".

"To be honest, I'm not a basket case. Really I take it as it is. I do it for the country. I'm not doing it for any other reason."

The First Lady recognizes the danger of the job, and it's dangerous for her too, Trump says.

At first he wasn't sure if the sound was a tray being dropped or a bullet, he adds.

"I was hoping it was a tray, but it wasn't."

Trump says he's concerned about "all violence", not exclusively politically-motivated attacks.

He compares the dangers of professions of presidents to others including race-car driving and bull riding, noting around 5.8% of US presidents have been shot at.

"I can't imagine there are many professions that are more dangerous" than the president, he said, saying being commander-in-chief means you "have to take risks".

Nodding towards Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he says "if Marco had told me then maybe I wouldn't have run for president".

Rubio was a candidate in the Republican primaries for the 2016 presidential race and ultimately bowed out when Trump secured the party's nomination.

Trump is asked if he or authorities are sure that the suspect was a lone actor.

Trump says it's not his profession to know the answer, but there's great professionals in the room and outside working the case.

"My impression is he was a lone wolf whack job," Trump says of the suspect. "These are crazy people. These are crazy people, and they have to be dealt with."

Trump is asked about how tonight compares to the rally in Butler, Pennsylvannia, in July 2024, when a man attempted to shoot him.

Trump says he can't be concerned about these types of situations, but he says security tonight did a much better job than in Butler. Even in Butler, though, he adds, his team had a sniper that took out the shooter quickly.

Trump says tonight the shooter did not get close to the ballroom because it was sealed.

The president says his team was not aware of any security threats ahead of the event.

"There was no notification," he told reporters in response to a question about whether there were any indications.

He doesn't know what the motivation was, but he mentions the suspect "looks pretty evil".

The suspect charged from "50 yards away" before security services drew their guns, the president said.

Authorities have arrived at the suspect's apartment in California.

Image source, Getty Images

Trump is asked by a reporter if he has any thoughts on why attempts have been made on his life.

There have been two assassination attempts on Trump in recent years - police have yet to say what the motive of the shooter was tonight.

Trump says he has studied assassinations, and he says he believes people go after those who have made "the biggest impact". He references President Abraham Lincoln, who was assassinated.

He says it's the "big names" who are targeted.

"I hate so say I'm honoured by that," he says, adding that his administration has done a lot for the country but some people are not happy about it.

Trump says he was all prepared to give his speech at the dinner before shots rung out.

"I was all set to really rip it, and I said to my people, 'this would be the most inappropriate speech ever made' if I said so."

But, he says, "I don't know if I could ever be as rough as I was going to be tonight".

For his speech at the rescheduled event, he says, "I'm going to be probably very nice. I'll be very boring the next time, but we're going to have a great event".

Image source, Getty Images

The president is now taking question from reporters.Trump says the event will be rescheduled for a later date adding that the experience was a traumatic experience for First Lady Melania Trump.

"We are not going to let anybody take over our society," he says.

The president says he initially didn't want to leave. "I fought like hell to stay," he says. But he was advice that it was protocol to leave because it was unclear if it was a lone shooter.

Attorney General Todd Blanche adds that charges will be filed shortly – and they're self-evident.

He says FBI and secret service agents are still at the Washington Hilton combing through the scene.

"I promise justice will be served," Blanche said.

We're now hearing from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who says tonight brought out the best and the worst of the country.

He says the best of the country were the law enforcement agents who did exactly the job they were supposed to do.

He adds that what they did will be visible in videos available to the public.

Trump says the suspect, who has been taken into custody, was "a very sick person".

"We don't want things like this to happen," he says.

He also thanks the event's representatives who "did a beautiful job with a beautiful evening" that was focused on free speech and the constitution.

The event will be rescheduled in the next 30 days, he says adding that it will be "bigger and better and even nicer".

Trump also thanks the media, who he says were "very responsible" in their coverage of the situation.

Trump says this is not the first time in the last couple years that a Republican has been attacked by a "would-be-assassin".

He references two times someone sought to kill him before he was re-elected, including at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvannia, and another time while Trump was golfing in Palm Beach, Florida.

Trump makes reference to the White House ball room under construction.

He says law enforcement have been wanting for a ball room for "150 years".

Tonight's shooting "is why we have all the attributes of what we're planning at the White House", the president says.

"We need levels of security that you've never seen before."

Washington DC police chief will speak soon.

Trump says that one Secret Service officer was shot from a very close distance in the incident, but saved by his bullet-proof vest.

"I just spoke to the officer, and he's doing great," Trump says. "He has very high spirits, and we told him we love him and respect him, and he's a very proud guy."

The president says he has just posted on social media a picture of the man in custody and security camera footage of what appears to be the start of the shooting.

He says he shared it in the interest of transparency.