By Jana Winter, Steve Holland and Steve Gorman WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the suspect accused of trying to attack administration officials at a black-tie gala on Saturday night was a "pretty sick guy" who had been flagged to law enforcement by family members.

Cole Thomas Allen of California, a guest at the Washington Hilton Hotel, has been arrested after being apprehended by law enforcement.

The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner sent writings to family members minutes before the shooting referring to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin."

President Trump was rushed from the stage of a dinner hosted by the White House reporters’ association. Trump said a Secret Service agent was shot at but “saved” by his bulletproof vest. The F.B.I. said a suspect was in custody.

President Donald Trump on Sunday said he believed the gunman who attacked the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner hated Christians, suggesting the violence could have been religiously motivated.

Mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was beside President Donald Trump during the attack on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, is now detailing the chaotic moments at the head table. Pearlman, 43, said on State of the Union Sunday that he was in a “pivotal moment” of a trick for Melania Trump,