U.S. Secret Service

The Secret Service confirmed that the incident resulted from a "confrontation between an armed individual and the Secret Service Police."

Contrasting statements have raised the question of who fired the round that struck the Secret Service officer during the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

US Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh ordered Allen detained while the case moves forward. Sharbaugh scheduled another hearing over Allen's continued detention for Thursday. 

The fact that some attendees could hear the shots fired at a Secret Service agent underscored vulnerabilities, even if federal agents appeared to carry out their plan to protect the president.

Spokesperson for the Israeli Embassy in Washington, Tal Naim, said she was sitting about 200 meters from the stage and heard “shouting and a great deal of panic.”

Hundreds of agents from several law enforcement agencies were tasked with protecting the annual bash, which President Donald Trump headlined this year.

Authorities have identified the suspected gunman as Cole Thomas Allen, a 31-year-old male from California, CNN reported, citing multiple law enforcement officials briefed on the incident.

US Vice President JD Vance said that although he was not concerned for his own safety, Kirk's absence made canceling the event at the University of Georgia a possibility.

According to the Palm Beach Sheriff's Office, Secret Service agents and a PBSO deputy identified the intruder as a white man carrying a shotgun and a canister of gasoline.

The Vance family was not home during the incident, as they had returned to Washington, Vance confirmed on X/Twitter