Donald and Melania Trump were evacuated from the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday evening after the event was interrupted by gunfire.

A suspect was in custody, the FBI said, after the annual black tie dinner honoring the White House press corps in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton was suddenly interrupted by confusion and chaos. Journalists ducked under tables as authorities rushed the president and members of his cabinet out of the room.

The president and his wife were unharmed, and later appeared at a press conference at the White House.

Muriel Bowser, the Washington DC mayor, said that a sole gunman rushed at the Secret Service in the lobby of the hotel. There is no reason to believe that anyone else was involved in the incident, she said.

The suspect is in custody and being “evaluated” at a local hospital, though he did not appear to have been struck by gunfire. He was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, the Associated Press is reporting, citing two law enforcement officials.

Jeffrey Carroll, the DC police chief, said that investigators believe the suspect did fire a shot and was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. He also said the suspect is believed to have been a guest at the hotel. A motive for the attack has not yet emerged, officials said.

Jeanine Pirro, a US attorney for the District of Columbia, said the defendant is being charged with two counts of felony firearms and assault charges and will be arraigned Monday. She expected more charges to follow.

In a press briefing from the White House later Saturday evening, Trump praised the Secret Service and said an agent was hit by a bullet that was stopped by a ballistic vest. The violence took place “quite far away”, he said.

“That was very unexpected but incredibly acted upon by Secret Service and law enforcement, and this was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press,” he said. “And in a certain way, it did, because the fact that they just unified. I saw a room that was just totally unified.

He also described the Washington Hilton as “not a particularly secure building” and argued the merits of the construction of a ballroom at the White House. “This is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House. It’s actually a larger room, and it’s much more secure.”

Weijia Jang, president of the White House correspondents’ dinner, told the ballroom earlier Saturday that the president wants to reschedule the dinner in the next 30 days.

“Thank God everyone is safe, and thank you for coming together tonight,” she said. “We will do this again.”

Guests had just started eating dinner when the commotion began in the back of the room. People started screaming “Get down, get down!”. Security agents stormed the stage and evacuated Trump and Melania, while others stood guard, rifles pointed. Security agents pushed cabinet officials to the ground, and later evacuated them one by one. The atmosphere was tense as journalists waited to hear what happened and what to do next. People reported waiting under their tables for orders from security staff.

CNN’s Wolf Blitzer reported that he saw someone with a gun at the event.

“I did see the gunman on the ground after he started shooting,” he said. “Police officers threw him to the ground.”