Turning Point USA executive director Erika Kirk was seen crying after gunshots rang out during the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel on Saturday night. Fox News reported that Kirk was seen running in the backstage area and wiping away tears. "I just want to go home," Kirk said, according to footage circulating on social media. The footage shows security safely escorting her out of the hotel. Erika Kirk is the widow of Charlie Kirk. Her husband, who founded Turning Point USA, was killed in September 2025 while delivering a speech at Utah Valley University. In mid-April, Kirk decided not to attend a Turning Point USA event with Vice President JD Vance at the University of Georgia after receiving threats ahead of the rally. "She was very concerned about it. I spoke with the United States Secret Service, and obviously these guys do a very good job, and I said, 'You know what? Let Erika do what she needs to do for herself and her family,'" Vance said, with the Secret Service later confirming the threats were not credible. Vance, along with President Donald Trump and several members of his administration, were safely evacuated from the White House Correspondents' Dinner after the shooting. One police officer was hit but was protected by a bulletproof vest. Trump said the suspected attacker, identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, was armed with multiple weapons before being stopped by the United States Secret Service. He was arrested and faces multiple charges.