The Ministry of Foreign Affairs affirmed the State of Qatar’s full solidarity with the United States of America and wished a speedy recovery for the injured.
Qatar has condemned the shooting incident that took place during a dinner hosted by the White House Correspondents’ Association at a hotel in Washington, DC, on Saturday evening, where U.S. President Donald Trump was rushed out.
In a statement on Sunday, Qatar’s foreign ministry reiterated the Gulf state’s stance in “rejecting violence and criminal acts regardless of their motives or reasons”.
“The Ministry affirms the State of Qatar’s full solidarity with the friendly United States of America, and its wishes for a speedy recovery to the injured,” the statement added.
United States President Donald Trump had to be evacuated from the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington DC, on Saturday night, after shots were fired outside the event.
Footage from the dinner’s venue at a Washington hotel, where the annual media gala was taking place, showed Trump and other attendees taking cover behind their table after shots rang out, as people yelled “Get down!” and “Stay down!” before they were rushed offstage.
In a first statement after the attack on Truth Social, Trump confirmed that the First Lady Melania Trump, and Trump’s Cabinet escaped unharmed in the attack.
“The First Lady, plus the Vice President, and all Cabinet members, are in perfect condition. We will be speaking to you in a half an hour,” Trump wrote.
In a news conference after the incident, Trump said a man armed with multiple weapons had charged a security checkpoint and was “taken down” by the Secret Service.
“One officer was shot but saved by the fact that he was wearing, obviously, a very good bulletproof vest. He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job,” Trump said.
He said it was unlikely that the shooting was linked to the war on Iran.
“It’s not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it, I really don’t think so, based on what we know,” Trump told reporters.
Trump described the suspect as a “very sick person” and a “thug” who had attacked the US Constitution.
“In light of this evening’s events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our differences peacefully,” Trump said.
The Secret Service said that one individual was in custody.
FBI director Kash Patel said officers had begun examining the suspect’s background and urged members of the public with any relevant information to come forward.
“We will be examining this individual’s background thoroughly. That process has already started… we will analyze all evidence immediately to make sure that we safeguard this country,” said Patel.
Shortly before his news conference, Trump posted images on Truth Social of the suspect face down on the ground, as well as a clip of a surveillance video showing a man running past security personnel, who then drew their guns and opened fire.
