WASHINGTON (WVLT) — A University of Tennessee student attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is safe after shots were fired outside the ballroom Saturday evening.
Gail Fanning, a UT student representing the university’s news station, said she hid under a table and called 911 when she heard a clang sound and saw people running into the ballroom.
President Trump and other high-ranking officials were escorted from the event. The gunman, identified as 31-year-old Cole Allen, is in custody, according to officials.
“I heard a clang sound. It sounded like utensils were falling. Like, a ton of them,” Fanning said. “When I saw people running, I was like, I’m gonna hide.”
Fanning, who is 5′1″ tall, said she immediately ducked under her table.
“I called 911. And I was like, I’m at the Washington Hilton. I’m in the international ballroom. My name is Abigail Fanning,” she said.
Scholarship recipient attending prestigious event
Fanning attended the dinner as the 2026 Carter Holland Memorial Scholarship recipient. The scholarship was established by Steve Holland, a University of Tennessee alumnus and former White House Correspondents’ Association president, in memory of his son Carter, who died in 2020.
Fanning said she was one of 29 students from universities across the country attending the dinner. She was seated next to students from the University of Maryland and the University of Missouri.
“I had just poured a glass of Chardonnay. I am 21, to clarify that. And I was eating a piece of bread. And I just hear a clang sound,” Fanning said.
She said the incident occurred on the opposite side of the ballroom from where she was seated. The shooting happened outside the ballroom, not inside.
Fanning said she gave her name and location to a 911 dispatcher while hiding under the table.
“I was like, I am under a table. All I see is white cloth,” she said.
Years of drills prepared her
Fanning said her response was instinctive after years of active shooter drills in school.
“I’ve been through so many gunman drills in K-12, so many practices. And I was like, if anything happens, hide, call 911,” Fanning said.
She said she also called her mother and the news director at the University of Tennessee’s Volunteer Channel to let them know she was safe.
Fanning said she had been excited to attend the dinner and had prepared for months.
“When I was watching this dinner in 2021, my mom was also with me. And we were at my grandmother’s house in West Virginia. And I remember saying to her, I hope to be there someday,” Fanning said. “And I was like, I’m here.”
She said she learned an important lesson from Heather Haley, formerly of WVLT and now at the University of Tennessee.
“Put your safety first before you do anything else. And I took that advice, and I used it tonight,” Fanning said.
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