CNN’s Wolf Blitzer recalls terrifying moment from WHCD shooting: ‘Is he trying to shoot me?’
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer says he was right next to the shooter,
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“I happened to been a few feet away from him as he was shooting. And of course, the first thing that went through my mind, is he trying to shoot me?”
“It was a very, very serious weapon, he starts shooting.” pic.twitter.com/n7Sk33y5CT
WASHINGTON, DC: The White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, April 25, an annual event to honor journalists, was met with an unfortunate fate when a gunman opened fire at the venue.
Nearly 2,000 guests, including journalists and high-profile members of the Trump administration, were gathered for the annual WHCD bash at the Washington Hilton Hotel when CNN’s Wolf Blitzer narrowly escaped the tragedy by luck.
Wolf Blitzer was just a few feet away from shooter
When Wolf Blitzer was returning from the restroom, gunshots rang out so close to him that he wondered if the bullets were meant for him, the CNN journalist revealed in the report he filed from the event.
The CNN anchor connected with the newsroom from the event hall after the shooting turned an official dinner into a breaking news event.
Blitzer said he “happened to have been a few feet away from” the shooter.
In the report, John Berman is heard asking if Blitzer could hear him. Berman asks, “I’d love to hear what your perspective is and what you can tell us.”
Answering Berman, Blitzer explains in detail what actually happened inside the Washington Hilton building. Blitzer said, "Just coincidentally, after they served the appetizers, I walked out to simply go to the men’s room, but you have to walk up these stairs and walk out, which I was doing.”
Wolf Blitzer recalls police throwing him to the ground
The news anchor said that as he was walking back towards the area where the event was happening, he heard the noise of gunshots in the hall near him.
“The next thing I knew, a police officer threw me to the ground and was on top of me and I was listening and watching what was uh… Going on uh… And apparently they got the gunman… A rather major weapon there but it was so worrisome, the noise was so loud in a small area, uh…” Blitzer recalled.
He said he was taken to the men's room with 15 other men, and the police didn't let them out until the situation had calmed down.
“I’m out now. I’m not back in the ballroom, but everything is apparently closing down,” he shared.
Wolf Blitzer's first thought was if gunman was trying to shoot him
The anchor said that he was only a few feet away from the gunman when he was shooting. “The first thing that went through my mind, ‘Is he trying to shoot me?'” Blitzer added. “And I don’t think he was trying to shoot me but I was very close to him as the gunshots were fired, and it was very, very scary, but I’m okay now.”
Blitzer was present at the correspondents’ dinner at the so-called “Hinckley Hilton” when a loud noise that turned out to be gunfire unleashed pandemonium.
The suspected gunman has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from Torrance, California. As per the authorities, the shooter stormed a security checkpoint “armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives” and “exchanged fire” with law enforcement officers.
