A man is going viral after footage emerged of him calmly continuing to eat a salad amid the chaotic aftermath of Saturday’s shooting at White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

He has been identified in US media as Creative Artists Agency agent Michael Glantz.

CNN’s coverage of the shooting shows him continuing to quietly eat as others shelter under tables. It follows accused gunman Cole Tomas Allen allegedly rushing a security checkpoint at the gala dinner at the Washington Hilton with multiple weapons.

Officials have said that Allen, a 31-year-old teacher and game developer from California, fired a shotgun at a Secret Service ​agent before being tackled and arrested.

As wild scenes erupted, US President Donald Trump, his wife Melania, Vice President JD Vance and other cabinet officials were rushed out of the dinner as the incident unfolded.

“That was a crazy, um, moment in time,” actor Cheryl Hines, who was there with her husband, US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy jr, said on her Instagram story.

“We were there and we heard shots and everybody got under the tables. Nobody knew what was going on.

“Then you know, Bobby’s security detail surrounded us and took us. I mean, really, like, had to lift me over chairs because I’m in heels and a gown. And they took us through all of the back ways and we got in the car and left.”

Glantz, meanwhile, told celebrity gossip website TMZ on Sunday that he felt safe in the room because of the large police presence.

“Not every day you see something like that go down,” he said.

He also offered a fuller explanation in other US media.

“First of all, I have a bad back. I couldn’t get on the floor, and if I did get on the floor, they’d have to bring in people to get me off the floor,” he said.

“No. 2, I’m a hygiene freak. There was no freaking way I was getting in my new tux on the dirty Hilton floor. It was not happening.”

Glantz represents CNN journalist Wolf Blitzer, who has told USA Today he was “a few feet away from the gunman” outside the ballroom when the shooting began.

“It was scary, it was loud. The cops got on top of him and then they got on top of me to protect me,” Blitzer said.

Other footage from the aftermath of the incident in the ballroom shows some journalists pocketing bottles of wine that have been left on abandoned tables.

The glitzy dinner was called off after Saturday’s shooting, although organisers have promised to reschedule it.

Hines, who has been married to Kennedy since 2014, thanked her social media followers for their sympathy and support.

“Thank you for everyone reaching out, asking if we’re OK, and we are OK, and I thank you for that. Um, I’m in my pyjamas now. Watching the news break, just like you guys. Um, but everybody stays safe,” the 60-year-old wrote late on Saturday (US time).

Saturday’s shooting follows three assassination attempts on Trump’s life — one in Pennsylvania in 2024 and two more in Florida.

On Sunday (US time), acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said Allen could “absolutely” be charged with attempting to assassinate Trump.

“We’re still looking to try to understand a motive,” he said. “From our preliminary investigation, it does appear the suspect was targeting members of the administration. I don’t want to go beyond that because we don’t have specifics yet about particular members of the administration, except that we do understand that that was his goal and his target.”