The incident unfolded on Saturday, April 25, at the Washington Hilton, where chaos erupted following reports of a shot being fired by an armed person. US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were swiftly evacuated by the Secret Service, and the high-profile gathering of journalists, politicians, and celebrities was called off mid-event. The White House later confirmed an active security response, with Trump addressing the nation in an emergency briefing.
But it wasn’t just the shooting that captured attention online—it was what happened moments later on live television.
Hasnie, a Fox News correspondent, who was reporting from inside the venue after the shooting, was in the middle of recounting a brief but unsettling exchange with Nicholas Riccio, 60, Press Secretary Leavitt’s husband. Hasnie said Riccio was seated beside her.
According to Hasnie’s on-air account, Riccio leaned over just as dinner was starting, right after the US National Anthem played.
“He leaned over and said, ‘I watched you on TV, you do a great job, but you need to be very safe,'” Hasnie recalled. “He was very serious when he said that to me, and he kinda looked around the room and said, ‘There are some—'”
At that exact moment, the live feed was cut out on Fox News.
FOX NEWS LIVE FEED DISRUPTION SPARKS CHATTER
The sudden interruption, with no immediate attempt to reconnect, ignited a wave of speculation across X, where users quickly began questioning whether the cutoff was accidental or deliberate.
“They didn’t even try to reconnect. That call was dropped on purpose,” a person wrote on X. Another person said: “I was listening to her live. That was definitely FOX who cut off the call. I really wanted to hear the remainder of her comment.”
“My jaw dropped. They literally cut her off. Wake up, peeps,” another person commented. Yet another X user said: “Dropped on purpose. Completely staged.”
“His statement makes it seem like Trump officials and a few of their spouses were in the know that the attack was about to take place even if the journalists there were not,” said a person, adding to the conspiracy theories.
SHOTS WILL BE FIRED: KAROLINE LEAVITT SAID MOMENTS BEFORE ATTACK
The unfinished warning wasn’t the only detail fuelling online scrutiny. Earlier that evening, Karoline Leavitt had made her own eyebrow-raising comment to a Fox News reporter.
In a widely circulated clip, Leavitt previewed the president’s upcoming speech with enthusiasm. “It’ll be funny,” she said. “It’ll be entertaining.” Then she added: “There will be some shots fired tonight in the room. So everyone should tune in. It’s going to be really great.”
The phrase, clearly meant as a figurative reference to Trump’s sharp rhetoric, took on an entirely different meaning after the actual shooting. “Well this aged poorly,” one post observed. Others questioned whether it was eerie foreshadowing or proof the incident had been staged.
Another post highlighted the clip alongside Leavitt’s “shots fired” remark, with the user writing, “DID FOX NEWS CUT OFF LIVE BROADCAST INDICATING FOREKNOWLEDGE OF SHOOTING?”
FOX NEWS SILENT ON LIVE FEED DISRUPTION
Neither Fox News nor Hasnie has publicly clarified whether the interruption was due to a technical failure or editorial decision.
Still, the timing has proven difficult for many viewers to ignore. Just as guests were finishing the salad course, chaos erupted. Trump and Melania were spotted in conversation with Leavitt and CBS’s Weijia Jiang when gunshots were heard, causing attendees to dive for cover under their tables while the Trumps were immediately evacuated.
One brave soul, however, Michael Glantz of the Creative Artists Agency (CAA) continued to eat his salad, later stating he did not want to ruin his expensive tuxedo by diving to the floor. Or maybe he was just way too hungry.
During his emergency press briefing that night, Trump revealed footage of the gunman charging security after the shooting. “He was running full blast, but they got him,” Trump said. He also praised Melania for her quick reaction: “She knew immediately what happened,” he noted, while he initially “sort of thought it was a tray.”
Leavitt had attended the event with her husband after announcing she was heading on maternity leave. The press secretary is due to have her second child next month. A man in his 30s from California was taken into custody following the incident.
While there is no evidence linking either Leavitt’s figurative comment or Riccio’s cryptic remark to prior knowledge of the incident, the convergence of both moments, separated by hours but united by unfortunate word choice, has become the centerpiece of online speculation.
– Ends
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