President Donald Trump, who was shot during a rally in Pennsylvania [AP=Yonhap News]

The shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on the 25th (local time) is suspected to be an assassination attempt targeting President Donald Trump, who was attending the event.

Including this incident, President Trump has been exposed to direct shooting threats three times in the past two years.

Among these, the most well-known incident was on July 13, 2024, when he was shot while campaigning in Butler, Pennsylvania, as a presidential candidate.

The shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, fired approximately eight rounds from an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle from the rooftop of a building 200-300 yards (approximately 183-274 meters) away from the rally stage. Candidate Trump sustained a penetrating gunshot wound above his right ear.

The scene of the then-candidate Trump, with blood on his ear and face, being surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents while still clenching his fist and raising it in the air was broadcast worldwide.

This shooting incident is considered to have been a decisive factor in his victory in the presidential election, defeating Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.

Just two months later, on September 15 of the same year, an assassination attempt was detected at a golf course in West Palm Beach, Florida.

A man aimed an SKS-style rifle at Candidate Trump while he was playing golf at his own golf course.

The suspect, Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, fled after being shot by Secret Service agents and was later arrested. It was later confirmed that he had been in the vicinity of the golf course for about 12 hours.

Shooter subdued at the White House Correspondents' Dinner [Reuters=Yonhap News]

With the addition of the White House Correspondents' Dinner incident on this day, President Trump has been exposed to shooting attempts three times in the past two years.

In particular, this shooting appears to be the first direct assassination attempt since his inauguration as president.

The shooter, Cole Thomas Allen, 31, was armed with multiple weapons including a shotgun, pistol, and knife, and was subdued by authorities as he rushed towards the event's security checkpoint.

During this process, the shooter fired at Secret Service agents, but no serious injuries were reported.

Investigative authorities believe the shooter had mental health issues and that it was a lone wolf attack.

Photo from the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan [EPA=Yonhap News]

The fact that the incident occurred at the Washington Hilton Hotel, the same venue where President Ronald Reagan's assassination attempt took place 45 years ago, draws further attention.

John Hinckley shot former President Reagan in front of the Washington Hilton Hotel on March 30, 1981. Former President Reagan was shot in the chest and survived after undergoing surgery at George Washington University Hospital.

In the United States, shooting and assassination attempts targeting presidents have a history of recurring.

The shooting targeting then-President Andrew Jackson in 1835 is considered the first assassination attempt on a U.S. president in history.

Four presidents have died from gunshot wounds while in office.

President Abraham Lincoln was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth, a Southern actor, at Ford's Theatre in Washington in 1865.

President James Garfield died after being shot by a mentally ill person in 1881, and President William McKinley lost his life at the hands of an anarchist in 1901.

President Kennedy shortly before being shot [EPA=Yonhap News Archive]

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald during a motorcade parade in Dallas, Texas, in 1963.

There have been numerous assassination attempts as well. Former President Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest during a presidential campaign in 1912 but survived, and former Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman also faced shooting threats during their presidencies.

Former President Gerald Ford faced two assassination threats over two years, including from followers of Charles Manson, a serial killer and cult leader.

Meanwhile, when asked by a reporter at a press conference at the White House on the 25th after the incident, "Why do you think these things (assassination attempts and threats to the president's safety) keep happening to the President (Trump)?" Trump responded, "I've studied assassinations, and it's the people that are the most influential, the people that have had the most success."

He continued, "Look at people like Abraham Lincoln. You look at the people that have been targeted, they are the ones that are doing the most, they are the ones that have the most impact," he argued.

Adding, "I'm somewhat reluctant to say this, but I've had a lot of success," and "I've turned this country, which was a laughing stock for many years, into the hottest country in the world," before stating, "And there are many people that don't like that."