Shots at the journalists' gala dinner in Washington. Guests dropped to the floor, the Secret Service pulled President Trump and VP Vance from the ballroom of the Washington Hilton hotel, and Melania Trump - sharp and composed - knew immediately that the sound was not a fallen tray.

The suspect is Cole Thomas Allen, a 31-year-old resident of Torrance, California, a hotel guest. The Secret Service responded within seconds. Less than an hour later, Trump was already giving a statement before cameras at the White House, visibly unshaken. The Secret Service and police responded excellently, he said.

What stayed in people's minds is the description of Melania. Trump said she immediately recognised it was something serious - unlike some guests who thought something had fallen in the kitchen. It was a quite traumatic experience for her, he added. Melania, a woman with experience of life in the public eye and all the risks that come with it, remained calm. That says a great deal on its own.

Trump postponed the dinner and promised it would be held within 30 days. The traditional gathering of the president and journalists - a symbol of the American model of press freedom - ended this time under the sound of gunfire. Is this a symptom of something deeper in American society, or just another isolated incident? The question remains open.