‘Violence Has No Place In Democracy’: Modi Condemns US Shooting Incident
Emphasising that ‘Violence has no place in a democracy’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday unequivocally condemned the shooting that took place at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington DC.
PM Modi expressed relief that President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania are safe and unharmed.
In a post on X, he said, “Relieved to learn that President Trump, the First Lady and Vice President are safe and unharmed following the recent security incident at a Washington DC hotel. I extend my best wishes for their continued safety and well-being. Violence has no place in a democracy and must be unequivocally condemned.”
Chaos broke out on Saturday evening after suspected gunshots were reportedly fired in the lobby of the Washington Hilton, leading to the evacuation of US President Donald Trump and other senior officials from the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
US President Donald Trump on Saturday (local time) said that an officer was shot but saved by the fact that he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
Trump, while delivering remarks in the Press Briefing Room, after the shooting incident, noted that the building was not secure.
“One officer was shot but saved by the fact that he was wearing an obviously very good bulletproof vest. He was shot from a very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job. I just spoke to the officer and he’s doing great. He’s in great shape. He is having very high spirits, and we told him we love him and respect him, and he’s a very proud guy. He’s very proud of what he does, Secret Service agent. And we looked at all of the conditions that took place tonight. And I will say, you know, it’s not a particularly secure building,” he said.
“And I didn’t want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House. It’s actually a larger room and it’s a much more secure. It’s got it’s drone proof, it’s bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom. That’s why Secret Service, that’s why the military are demanding it. They’ve wanted the ballroom for 150 years for lots of different reasons. But today is a little bit different because today we need levels of security that probably nobody’s ever seen before,” Trump added.
Trump also praised the law enforcement officers for their swift actions.
He said, “But everyone owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the courage of law enforcement, the law enforcement and working with the DC police. And I just spoke with the mayor. And when we’re finished, the police chief is going to take over and discuss it also from their viewpoint. But they also performed exactly as they were supposed to. And you see the attacker in different positions, but you also see the attacker totally subdued and under control.” (ANI)
