President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Sunday held a phone call with Donald Trump and conveyed his well wishes after what the White House has called the attempted assassination of the U.S. president.
Erdoğan told Trump that he views the incident as “a heinous act against democracy and press freedom” and wished a speedy recovery to the injured security officer, the Presidential Communications Directorate said in a statement.
Erdoğan was among several world leaders who earlier condemned the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington when a suspect armed with multiple weapons charged the premises, trying to penetrate the hotel ballroom where Trump and Cabinet secretaries were assembled.
The shooting suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California. He railed against Trump administration policies and referred to himself as a "Friendly Federal Assassin" in writings sent to family members minutes before the attack that authorities increasingly believe was politically motivated, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.
The writings, sent shortly before shots were fired Saturday night at the Washington Hilton, made repeated references to President Donald Trump without naming him directly and alluded to grievances over a range of administration actions and recent events, including U.S. strikes on drug smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific, the official said Sunday.
