CINCINNATI — Toledo native Ben Bascuk was in the room as chaos ensued at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
“I would say, probably the scariest part of the night was when Secret Service behind me started yelling, ‘Shots fired, shots fired,’” Bascuk said.
Bascuk is a junior at Syracuse University, studying broadcast and digital journalism. He's spending the semester in Washington, D.C., and earned a special scholarship from the White House Correspondents' Association, along with several other students.
That scholarship included the chance to go to the annual event, which took place inside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton.
"I describe it to a lot of people like prom, but for journalists and adults," Bascuk said.
Watch to hear an eyewitness account of the aftermath of the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner:
Bascuk and his colleagues were able to walk the red carpet, connect with well-known journalists and political figures and enjoy the dinner.
"The vibes were great, the vibes were high, everyone was laughing, having a good time," Bascuk said.
And then, noise started to enter the room.
“I just remember eating and you hear sounds, to me, they didn’t register as gunshots," Bascuk said.
As the event continued, authorities say the gunman is 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen, who was taken into custody after officers tackled him to the ground in a security area of the hotel.
The college student said he watched as Tulsi Gabbard, the U.S. director of national intelligence, was rushed away by security.
Bascuk said he and others had to duck and cover, waiting for answers as to what was going on.
"I was right by the C-SPAN pool cam and the photographer said that the shots were fired upstairs in the lobby, is what they said over the radio. So it was not in the reception room and that’s kind of when I was able to take a breath a little bit," Bascuk said.
The journalism student told me that the update was a sigh of relief. He took lots of videos from inside the dinner and sent updates to his student media.
"Once you know that you're safe and you're able to get up and move freely, it's very relieving to be able to do your job," Bascuk said.
He was able to contact his family and let them know he was safe. Bascuk described the terrifying moments as something that is, in some ways, unifying.
“Whether you’re a politician, a journalist, yes, we have our differences, but we’re all people and we all experienced that event together, and I think that was really on display last night," Bascuk said.
