Devastated Erika Kirk Ushered Out of WHCA Dinner After Shooting

(Screenshot via @SaraSidnerTV on Instagram)

A visibly rattled Erika Kirk was seen weeping as she was being ushered out of the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday after a shooter fired multiple shots, sending the annual event into chaos and forcing the Secret Service to rush President Donald Trump off the stage.

CNN reporter Sara Sidner posted a clip to her Instagram account of Kirk sobbing as she was being escorted out by two men in the aftermath of the shooting.

“I just want to go,” a choked-up Kirk could be heard saying.

You can view the post on Instagram by clicking here, as well as the X post below:

Her devastation is understandable, obviously, not only because it was a traumatic experience, but also because it came seven months after her husband Charlie Kirk was murdered at a Turning Point USA event in Utah.

Erika Kirk has stepped in to run the conservative organization in place of her husband since then, and she was seen smiling while posing alongside Fox News anchor Lawrence Jones before the event on Saturday evening.

The good vibes were wrecked by the shooting hours later. Veteran Fox News anchor Bret Baier reported he spotted Kirk hiding under her table like many other attendees right after multiple shots were fired.

Kirk was later “crying in the back hall, as you can imagine, after the assassination of her husband,” Baier reported. 

The suspected shooter was later identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, California.

President Trump posted two pictures of Allen — whom he branded a “thug” and a “very sick person” — on Saturday night. He also shared security footage of law enforcement officers responding to the shooter as he raced through the lobby of the Hilton hotel.

During a press conference, Trump applauded the Secret Service and law enforcement for doing a “great job” apprehending Allen.

He said one officer was shot from close distance, but was saved because he was wearing “a very good bulletproof vest.”

“I just spoke to the officer, and he’s doing great, he’s in great shape,” Trump said. “He has very high spirits, and we told him we love him and respect him.”

Trump added he “fought like hell” to have the event resume, but that law enforcement officials told him it was just not possible. The president said he hopes the event will be rescheduled for late May.

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