Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: US President Donald Trump described the suspect behind the foiled attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner on April 26 as “a sick guy” and said early warnings about the individual may not have reached authorities in time.
“The guy is a sick guy, when you read his manifesto. He hates Christians, that’s one thing for sure… and I think his sister or his brother actually was complaining about it. They were even complaining to law enforcement. He was a very troubled guy,” Trump said in a Fox News interview.
Trump indicated that he had only learned of prior alerts after the incident. “I heard about the London situation, and I wish they would have told us about it a little bit, but… it is what it is,” he said. He said the response by the Secret Service and other agencies prevented the attacker from getting close to the venue. “They stopped them cold. And there was no games being played, that I can tell you,” he said.
Trump described the rapid intervention in vivid terms. “He came in running like he was an NFL running back. Frankly, he was very fast, and they just stopped him cold. And there was no question. He never even came close to getting by the doors or getting through the doors,” Trump said.
The President emphasised the multiple layers of protection at the event, noting that even if the suspect had breached the initial perimeter, additional security personnel were in place inside. “There were so many people in there, too, also security. And you have to go through a lot of layers,” he said.
