All eyes had been on the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington last night for different reasons.
Donald Trump had ended his boycott of the event as president and the glamorous scene had been set for his highly anticipated speech at the black-tie dinner, where he was expected to roast the attendees.
Mr Trump sat down for dinner around 8:30pm - the room packed with American journalists, politicians, administration officials and celebrities.
Ahead of the event, The New York Times posed the question: "What could go wrong?"
American TV networks carried the event live on their stations, with rolling live footage and well-dressed panels predicting what the president would say or do to make the attendees feel uncomfortable during his address.
During a CNN commercial break, an ad cut unexpectedly.
Then the screen showed near empty white ballroom tables and the top table was mostly clear.
If you looked closely, guests were peering out from under tables and seats.
CNN host Laura Coates could be heard saying: "Are we on air?"
Moments earlier, Secret Service agents rushed to the US president and Vice President JD Vance.
They pulled them in separate directions to safety to protect the presidential line of succession.
Photos of members from the Trump administration and senior leaders in Congress being evacuated, including US House Speaker Mike Johnson, showed the stress and urgency.
Over the course of the next hour, some of the country’s top journalists from Kaitlin Collins to Jacqui Heinrich, both known for reporting on Donald Trump, became part of the story.
They and rolling coverage commentators speculated whether a stack of plates falling caused this security alert, or if a shooting had actually taken place.
Live pictures showed journalists with their phones documenting this historic moment and doing their job - trying to get to the bottom of what exactly happened.
Charlie Kirk’s widow, Erica, was seen visibly shaken and crying as she abruptly left the hotel.
It was also not lost on reporters that this is the same location that former US president Ronald Reagan was shot in March 1981.
CNN’s Wolf Blitzer was on the phone to his broadcaster and became one of the first accounts revealing that there had, in fact, been a shooter.
He told them that as he made his way to the ballroom, after a bathroom break, he found himself just feet away from a gunman and asking "is he trying to shoot me?"
The veteran journalist also reflected about how someone with a firearm could get so close to the ballroom as all guests had been required to go through magnetometers before the dinner.
This will be a question that will be asked repeatedly to security officials in the coming days and weeks: How did a gunman get so close to a room with some of the most important, high-profile people in politics and media inside?
CCTV footage later released by Mr Trump on Truth Social shows a suspect charging through the security machine and bypassing security staff in a matter of seconds.
He was apprehended not long after.
Before this became clear, Jacqui Heinrich, Fox News senior White House correspondent, posted online that the president wanted the "show to go on" even amid the chaos and confusion.
However, law enforcement had asked that everybody leave the venue due to protocol.
A request that was accepted by the US president, who then called on the press corps to meet him at the White House in 30 minutes for a press conference.
While the motive remains unclear, the US president has been the target of two previous assassination attempts.
His reaction to the 2024 attempt on his life, during an open-air campaign rally in Pennsylvania, encapsulated strength and defiance.
Last night was no different.
At 10:30pm, some of the country’s most well known journalists, donned in formal wear, were in place to hear from the president at the White House’s briefing room.
He emerged to the podium flanked by FBI director Kash Patel and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin.
Also present, but out of frame were US First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.
President Trump, who appeared mostly unflappable, gave details about the incident and called for unity.
He said he wanted to stay and resume the dinner.
"I fought like hell," he said.
However, Mr Trump said he was told by security agents that he had to leave.
He said: "I lead a pretty normal life considering, you know, it's a dangerous life.
"I think I handle it as well as it can be handled."
The president said he reads stories of this happening to other people and they "become basket cases".
"To be honest, I'm not a basket case. Really, I take it as it is. I do it for the country. I'm not doing it for any other reason," he added.
Ms Trump declined to take questions from the press.
The attacker turned out to be armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives, according to the Secret Service officials - who later revealed shocking details in a separate press conference alongside Washington DC's mayor.
One Secret Service agent was shot and has injuries that are not life threatening.
The Washington DC mayor said the suspect was receiving treatment in a nearby hospital and remains in police custody.
Washington DC's police chief Jeffery W Carroll said the suspect was a hotel guest where the event was taking place, and his room was secured as part of the investigation.
Despite questions about how the gunman got so far, the feeling of relief that he did not get further was palpable.
What happened at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner will be subject to intense scrutiny.
It is another incident that has shaken and shocked Washington, and has, once again, fired up another conversation surrounding political and gun violence in the United States.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche also spoke to journalists from the podium last night and did not mince his words.
"Tonight you saw the very worst and very best of the country," he said.
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