BREAKING,

The US president was escorted out from the event at a Washington DC hotel by his secret service agents.

United States President Donald Trump has been evacuated from the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington, DC, after shots were fired outside the event.

The evacuation on Saturday evening came after gun shots were heard outside the hotel ballroom where Trump had been seated ahead of the annual media event.

Footage from the scene showed Trump and attendees taking cover behind their table, as people yelled “Get down!” and “Stay down!”

Trump was then rushed away from the scene by the United States Secret Service, after which heavily armed agents surrounded the table.

Al Jazeera producer Chris Sheridan said he heard what he believed to be five gun shots outside the ballroom.

“We could smell the powder. We immediately dove to the ground. It was directly behind me,” Sheridan said.

Weijia Jiang, the president of the White House Correspondents’ Association, told the media that the programme would resume and that more details will be provided soon.

Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Manuel Rapalo

not inside inside the ballroom.

More to come…