Charlie Kirk's widow Erika sobs as she's rushed to safety from White House Correspondents' dinner shooting

Charlie Kirk's distraught widow Erika was seen sobbing as she was rushed out of the White House correspondents' dinner to safety after a gunman opened fire. The annual event was plunged into chaos when gunshots sent 2,500 guests in a ballroom at the Washington Hilton hotel ducking for cover under tables while Donald Trump was quickly evacuated. Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk's widow, was among the first people to be moved out of the room late on Saturday night, soon after the President and First Lady were rushed out by the Secret Service. The CEO of the right-wing political charity Turning Point USA was caught weeping as she was evacuated and said "I just want to go home" as she walked past a camera. The suspect in the shooting attack was named as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from California. Police said the suspect was armed with multiple weapons including a shotgun, handgun and multiple knives. This incident came just over six months since Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck and killed while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University . After Charlie's death, Erika, 37, took over as head of Turning Point USA and has become the face of the right-wing group. A sponsor of the group, Derek Myers, later posted: "Erika is okay but very upset. She was crying." The widow had been seen, in photos from earlier that night, at the dinner sat next to the controversial US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. Erika had been a guest of Fox News at the annual dinner. Eyewitness reports claimed Erika initially hid under a table before she was promptly ushered out. It was also claimed the widow was crying and consoled by FBI director Kash Patel, according to People . This comes after Erika Kirk last week pulled out of a Turning Point USA event, in Athens, Georgia, with Vice President JD Vance. The CEO said she did this because she was "worried" and "some threats". The 37-year-old received "some very serious threats in her direction" a spokesperson for the right-wing charity told Fox News. Vance said "I know that she did get some threats" before adding: "She was very worried about it." Shocking CCTV footage from Washington Hilton hotel, last night, showed the suspect running through a security checkpoint and towards the ballroom. The President was not injured in the attack but one Secret Service member was shot at by the suspect but their bulletproof vest saved them, officials said. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the accused gunman is believed to have been targeting Donald Trump and members of his administration. He added that officials also believe the suspect had travelled by train from California to Chicago and then onto Washington where he checked in as a guest to the hotel where the event was being held. Law enforcement officials who have examined his electronic devices and writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members attending the dinner. “It does appear that he did in fact set out to target folks who work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC’s 'Meet the Press'. The US Attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, said the suspected is expected to appeared in court on Monday and be formally charged with several offences, including using a firearm during a crime of violence. This has been the third time since 2024 that the US President had been under threat by an attacker in his immediate vicinity – including the assassination attempt in Butler , Pennsylvania, that injured him and killed a local firefighter.