Suspected gunman likely targeting Trump administration officials at White House press dinner, acting attorney general says – live

08.13 EDT'Preliminary findings' suggest suspect was 'likely' targeting Trump administration officials, says acting US attorney generalThe acting US attorney general, Todd Blanche, has said that “preliminary findings” suggest that the alleged White House correspondents’ dinner shooter was targeting Donald Trump and officials in his administration.Blanche told NBC News’ Meet the Press: double quotation markWe’re still investigating a motive, and that’s something that will necessarily take a couple of days at least. We believe he was targeting administration officials in this attack, attempted attack, but that’s again, quite preliminary. Those officials “likely” include the US president, Blanche added, “but I want to wait and not get ahead of us on that.”Blanche went on to say that he does not believe that the suspect is cooperating with the investigation.He will be charged in federal court tomorrow with assault of a federal officer, discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer, Blanche said, adding he did not know if there was an Iran connection to the attack.Investigators believe the suspect travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then Chicago to Washington DC by train, before checking into the hotel where the dinner was held, Blanche added.He said investigators were looking into reports that the suspect had assembled the weapon somewhere in the hotel, but that he “didn’t get very far”. double quotation markHe barely broke the perimeter. And by barely, I mean by a few feet. Todd Blanche last night speaking next to FBI director Kash Patel and Donald Trump – still in their tuxedos - at a press briefing at the White House, following the shooting incident during the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Photograph: Jonathan Ernst/ReutersShareUpdated at 08.41 EDT

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