The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was thrown into chaos after a lone gunman opened fire at the annual Washington, D.C, Saturday event.
While the motive remains a question, the suspected shooter has been identified as 31-year-old California man Cole Tomas Allen.
President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and other members of the administration were taken from the Washington Hilton’s ballroom as guests scrambled for cover during the shocking incident. The suspect rushed security guards and opened fire, hitting a Secret Service agent. He was quickly subdued by officers and taken into custody. No guests at the dinner were hurt. The event was subsequently canceled.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said the assailant had been apprehended and posted a photo of the suspect on the ground at the hotel. Police said Allen was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.
“They seem to think he’s a lone wolf, and I feel that too,” Trump said at a press briefing after the event.
Here’s what we know so far about the man police said fired shots at the dinner:
Who is the suspected gunman?
Multiple sources identified the suspect as Allen, a 31-year-old from Torrance, California, on the outskirts of Los Angeles, close to Santa Monica.
Allen, a 2017 graduate of California Institute of Technology, was working as a teacher at the time of his arrest while also developing computer games. In 2019, he registered the domain name “Bohrdom” for a game he created and released on Steam. It is described as a “skill-based, non-violent asymmetrical fighting game loosely derived from a chemistry model that is itself loosely based on reality.”
In 2025, he attained a master's degree in computer science from California State University at Dominguez Hills in 2025.
While a student at Caltech, Allen was a member of the school’s Christian fellowship and the Nerf club. He was featured in a 2017 photo that was posted by the school on Facebook following his graduation. In that photo, he’s holding a picture of himself as a child with a stuffed rabbit.
In December 2024, a Facebook post from private tutoring service C2 Education named Allen as “Teacher of the Month.”
On his LinkedIn page, Allen described himself as a “mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth.” He lists his ”Causes” on that profile as ”Science and Technology.”
Allen previously worked as a mechanical engineer for UK Controls in South Pasadena and as a teaching assistant at Caltech. In 2016, he competed in a robotics competition at the school.
Allen donated to the Democratic PAC ActBlue in October 2024
Allen donated $25 to the political action committee ActBlue in October 2024, a month before Donald Trump’s defeat of Kamala Harris, reports The Los Angeles Times.
According to FEC filings, it was his only political donation in the past ten years. Allen was a registered voter but not a member of a political party.
Allen lived in a community surrounded by ‘lots of retired LAPD’
A neighbor of Allen’s told The LA Times. “We see them every day and we just say hi and they’re very nice. They’re peaceful people, they don’t make any noise and when they see you they say hi.”
Another neighbor said the residents had only moved into the home six months previously.
While another neighbor told The New York Times that the community is home to “lots of retired LAPD... We were told it was super-super safe.”
In a brief interview with The New York Post, neighbor Jeff Smith said that he felt as though Allen was “on the spectrum.”
Local media reported a large law enforcement response at a home in Torrance believed to be associated with Allen. At one point, residents of the home could be seen talking with officers.
Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, confirmed that a search warrant was executed at the suspect’s home. Federal agents entered the home around 10:30 pm local time.
The suspect has been described as ‘very intelligent’ on the ‘nicer, quieter side’
The president of the Asian American Civic Trust, Dylan Wakayama, described Allen as “very intelligent, proficient in biology, mathematics and science. They thought he was on the nicer, quiet side” when speaking to The Los Angeles Times.
Allen tutored high school students who were members of the AACT.
“They were completely shocked when I told them that this all went down,” Wakayama added. I think all of us in Torrance would be shocked if this is the man who attempted to kill the president of the United States.”
How did he get a gun into the hotel?
How the suspect got the gun near the facility remains unclear.
DC Metro Police Chief Jeffery W. Carroll said investigators believe Allen was staying at the Washington Hilton hotel.
“We have secured a room here in the hotel, and again, we'll go through the appropriate procedures to determine what was inside there," Carroll told the media.
ABC News reports, citing sources, that Allen traveled from Los Angeles to DC via Chicago.
The president posted surveillance footage of the suspect running past the hotel’s security checkpoint. Trump said he did so for “transparency” and to highlight the speed with which agents reacted to the threat.
At the White House press briefing, Trump called the suspect “a sick person” and said investigators were on their way to his apartment.
Police said Allen has no criminal record and was not on law enforcement's radar in Washington, D.C.
A Secret Service agent was shot during the incident after the suspect sprinted through the checkpoint. He was apprehended off camera, but police say he was not shot. He was stopped before he got to the ballroom, where Trump and other cabinet members were in attendance.
Allen and the Secret Service agent who was injured were both taken to a local hospital. The agent is said to be in good spirits following the incident.
What is he being charged with?
Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C, said the suspect was being charged with two counts: use of a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
Pirro said that the defendant would be arraigned on Monday in federal court.
If convicted of both counts, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
The reasoning behind the attack is unknown at this time.
Carroll refused to speculate on a motive and said it was too soon to know who the suspect was targeting.
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