White House correspondents' dinner shooting: Suspect described himself as 'friendly federal assassin' in letter, sources say

Former President Barack Obama responded to Saturday night's shooting at the White House correspondents' dinner, writing on X that it's essential to "reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy."

He added that the incident was a reminder of the "courage and sacrifice" that the Secret Service makes every day.

"Although we don’t yet have the details about the motives behind last night's shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner, it’s incumbent upon all us to reject the idea that violence has any place in our democracy," he said in the post. "It’s also a sobering reminder of the courage and sacrifice that U.S. Secret Service Agents show every day. I’m grateful to them – and thankful that the agent who was shot is going to be okay."

-ABC News' Hannah Demissie

The White House Correspondent's Association dinner shooting suspect allegedly sent a message to his family, just before attempting to carry out an attack at the dinner Saturday evening, in which he described himself as a "friendly federal assassin," sources familiar with his message told ABC News.

The suspect, Cole Allen, wrote that he planned to target administration officials, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest, according to sources familiar with his message.

In the message shared with family members, Allen apparently said that while dinner guests were not his "targets," he "would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary."

Allen did not mention President Donald Trump by name in his message, the sources said. Allen did write that FBI Director Kash Patel was not a target but did not explain why, the sources said.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday morning on NBC that the suspect was targeting administration officials "likely including the president," but added that the information was preliminary because the investigation is ongoing.

-ABC News' Katherine Faulders, Pierre Thomas, Jack Date and Luke Barr

White House Correspondents' Association President Weijia Jiang issued a statement Sunday afternoon about the attack at Saturday night's White House Correspondents' Association dinner, calling it "a harrowing moment for everyone in attendance."

"We express our deepest gratitude to the U.S. Secret Service and all law enforcement personnel who ensured the safety of everyone in the ballroom and beyond," Jiang wrote on behalf of the WHCA. "Their actions protected thousands of guests, and we wish a full and speedy recovery to the officer who was injured in the line of duty."

Jiang also expressed gratitude that "everyone in attendance was unharmed, including the president, the first lady, and the vice president."

"Our dinner exists to celebrate the First Amendment and the hard daily work of the journalists who defend it. Last night, those journalists showed exactly the kind of calm and courage that work demands, jumping into reporting immediately after the incident unfolded. We are proud of everyone in that room," Jiang further wrote.

The White House Correspondents' Association board will meet "to assess what happened and determine how to proceed," Jiang's statement concluded, adding that the organization would provide updates "as soon as any are available."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the suspected shooter at Saturday night's White House Correspondents' Association dinner intended to kill President Donald Trump.

"What was supposed to be a fun night at the @WHCA dinner with President Trump delivering jokes and celebrating free speech was hijacked by a depraved crazy person who sought to assassinate the President and kill as many top Trump administration officials as possible," Leavitt wrote in a post on X Sunday.

"I was with President Trump and the First Lady back stage after we were quickly ushered to safety by Secret Service. President Trump was truly fearless, but as he said last night, this political violence needs to end," Leavitt wrote.

"Thank you to law enforcement for keeping all of us safe, including the brave agent who took a bullet to the chest and immediately moved to neutralize the shooter. Pray for our country," the post concluded.