A 31-year-old man from Torrance, California, has been identified as the suspect in a shooting that disrupted the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, D.C. The event, attended by former President Donald Trump and over 2,000 guests, was thrown into chaos when the suspect attempted to breach security at the Washington Hilton. Law enforcement sources named the man as Cole Tomas Allen, who was subdued after exchanging fire with agents. Trump shared a photo of Allen handcuffed and lying face down on a floor above the gala.
Allen was reportedly armed with a shotgun, handgun and multiple knives. Officials said he would be arraigned Monday on firearm and assault charges. Trump described him as a "sick guy" with "a lot of hatred in his heart," adding that a manifesto left by the suspect was "strongly anti-Christian." A note sent to Allen's family before the attack, per the New York Post, expressed anger toward Trump's policies, including immigration enforcement and the war in Iran, and referenced the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
A LinkedIn profile matching Allen's name listed him as a mechanical engineer and computer scientist, a graduate of the California Institute of Technology in 2017. He was part of the Caltech Christian Fellowship and Nerf Club. He also held a master's degree in computer science from California State University Dominguez Hills. Allen worked part-time as a tutor at C2 Education, which named him "teacher of the month" in December 2024.
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