Attendee recalls chaos after gunfire at Correspondents' dinner

A shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, D.C., is raising concerns about security at high-profile political events, with attendees already anticipating tighter safety measures moving forward.

Matt Shupe, who attended the dinner and works in public relations for large-scale political gatherings, said the incident has shifted how organizers will approach future events, including those in California.

“It sounded like a ‘pop pop, pop, pop, pop.'”

Shupe said the initial confusion inside the venue quickly turned into alarm as guests tried to make sense of the noise.

“You’ve probably got 100 or 200 servers coming in and out with the giant trays with all the entree plates on them. And so at first, everybody kind of thought that maybe 1 or 2 people had collided and all of the plates had fallen over.”

He said it soon became clear the sounds were gunfire.

Shupe, who recently worked the California Republican Party convention in San Diego, said incidents like this will likely lead to increased security at similar events.

“You know, I was actually thinking about that this morning, that, you know, at the next California Republican Party convention, we probably need to have more security,” Shupe said.

A day after the shooting, Shupe said the mood in Washington remained uneasy, with some attendees and his PR clients opting out of planned events.

“You know, there were actually after parties scheduled for today [Sunday]. And I have clients that are not going to those anymore, and people that aren’t going to those. And so it definitely has a different feeling today,” he said.

Despite the incident, Shupe said he hopes to attend the event again in the future.

“I hope my ticket is still good. I do plan on going again.”

The shooting has also renewed scrutiny of the Washington Hilton, the venue where the dinner was held. The hotel is in the same location where President Ronald Reagan was shot during his presidency, adding to concerns about security at the site.

A spokesperson for the Washington Hilton said in a statement that, “The well-being, safety and security of our guests and team members remains our top priority and we are fully cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation. Additional questions should be directed to the U.S. Secret Service, which led security for the event.”

Elected leaders in San Diego are also reacting to Saturday night’s attack. City Councilmember Marni Von Wilpert, who represents District 5 and is also running for California’s 48th congressional district, said that now is the time for political leaders to come together to condemn political violence.

“We can’t demonize other people just because we don’t agree with them,” Von Wilpert said.

Von Wilpert’s comments came in response to a statement from California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin, who called the attack a “terrible act of violence” and went on to say, “This violence must stop now. Democrats must end their violent rhetoric; their words have consequences and are causing real harm.”

“Now is not the time to take more partisan sides and point fingers at each other. Now is the time for elected leaders on all sides of the aisle to bring Americans together and unite us,” Von Wilpert said.

Ammar Campa-Najjar is also vying for federal office in the race to replace Republican Congressman Darrell Issa.

In a statement to NBC 7, Campa-Najjar said, “Last night’s attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was an act of senseless violence, and I’m relieved that everyone, including the brave member of the U.S. Secret Service shot in the line of duty, is expected to recover. A free press is the lifeblood of our democracy, and no political or personal disagreement justifies violence.”

NBC 7 reached out to the campaign of County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who is also running for Representative Issa’s seat, but did not hear back in time for publication. NBC 7 also reached out to Congressman Mike Levin’s office and the San Diego County Democratic Party for comment, and is waiting to hear back.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.