A growing chorus of criticism has emerged over security arrangements at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, after a gunman armed with multiple weapons managed to enter the Washington Hilton, where President Donald Trump and senior officials were gathered on Saturday night. At the same time, Trump and several allies argued that the episode showed the need for a long-proposed, high-security ballroom at the White House.
Lawmakers from both parties raised concerns about how the suspect, identified in reports asCole Tomas Allen,was able to bring a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives into the hotel.
As in previous years, weapons screening was conducted at a checkpoint near the ballroom rather than at the building's entrances. Critics said that allowed hotel guests and others to move freely through parts of the venue without being screened.
Representative Mike Lawler, Republican of New York, said on social media that there were "numerous glaring security issues." "While the security perimeter outside of the ballroom worked, and the Secret Service and Federal Law Enforcement acted swiftly to secure the ballroom and move the President and high level officials out of harms way, the fact is there [were] numerous glaring security issues," he wrote.
Lawler cited the absence of photo identification checks, a lack of a verified attendee list and uncertainty about the number and location of members of Congress in attendance.
"There needs to be a complete and thorough after action as to how the gunman got from his hotel room into a secure area with numerous guns," he added.
Representative Ritchie Torres, Democrat of New York, echoed those concerns.
"No security screening was required to enter an event featuring the President of the United States, the Speaker of the House, Cabinet Secretaries, and Members of Congress?" he wrote. "This failure of even the most basic security protocols—as inexplicable as it is inexcusable—demands an immediate investigation."
Authorities said the suspect had booked a room at the hotel, allowing him to enter the premises without undergoing the same screening as attendees entering the ballroom area.
He later attempted to pass through a magnetometer checkpoint and opened fire before being subdued by law enforcement. Even the suspect appeared to comment on the security arrangements in a document recovered after the incident.
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