Everything we know about Cole Allen, the D.C. correspondents dinner shooter
The photo of the suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner attack was posted on President Donald Trump’s Truth Social account on April 25, 2026.
@realdonaldtrump | Real Social
The annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner was derailed Saturday night after a gunman named Cole Allen burst through a security checkpoint and exchanged gunfire with law enforcement.
The gunman was captured at the scene and is expected to appear in court on Monday. One law enforcement official was shot but not seriously injured, and all Trump administration officials and lawmakers were safely evacuated. No injuries were reported among participants.
Following the incident, President Donald Trump, who attended his first White House Correspondents’ Dinner as president, requested that the event be rescheduled. Although the dinner was originally planned to go ahead, it was canceled due to law enforcement considering the venue an active crime scene.
Here’s what we know about Allen:
It was claimed that he targeted the Trump administration
Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Todd Blanche said the suspected shooter likely targeted administration officials during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“It appears that the suspect targeted members of the administration,” Blanche said, noting that authorities were still “trying to understand the reason for our preliminary investigation.”
Blanche said it was unclear whether the attacker targeted “specific members” of the administration, but “we understand that was his aim and his goal.”
Traveled from Los Angeles
Allen, from Torrance, California, traveled by train “from Los Angeles to Chicago, then Chicago to D.C.,” Blanche said.
Allen had a reservation at the Washington Hilton, where the dinner was held, and Blanche said he checked in on Friday.
Blanche said the suspect was uncooperative with authorities and that authorities obtained most of the information about him “through other means.”
“We’ve started talking to people who knew him, we’ve already started looking at the evidence we’ve collected,” he said.
FBI tactical agents clear the way as they prepare to leave the scene of an investigation near a home associated with the suspected White House Correspondents’ Dinner attacker early on April 26, 2026 in Torrance, California.
Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images
He was a teacher
Allen was a teacher at C2 Education, a provider of tutoring, test preparation and college admissions consulting. LinkedIn profile.
C2 said in a statement to CNBC that they were “shocked to hear the news of the horrific incident that occurred at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.”
“We are fully cooperating with law enforcement to assist them in their investigations. Violence of any kind is never the answer,” the company said.
His LinkedIn profile shows that he graduated from the California Institute of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and from California State University, Dominguez Hills with a master’s degree in computer science.
Allen wrote a letter
Allen allegedly wrote a detailed letter about his plans and its contents were obtained by the United States. New York Post.
In the memo published by the Post, Allen allegedly said he would “no longer allow a pedophile, rapist and traitor to cover my hands with his crimes.”
In the letter, Allen refers to himself as a “friendly federal assassin.”
The suspected shooter also noted that security at the event and at the Washington Hilton was lighter than he expected; This was a warning that many elected officials and attendees also noted.
Oversight hearings are expected to be held on Capitol Hill regarding the shooting, which is the third attempt on Trump’s life since 2024.
A spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told MS NOW that the US Secret Service is planning a bipartisan hearing on “security protocols and related law enforcement matters, including the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.”
Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told MS NOW that the suspect’s brother contacted the New London, Connecticut, police department about the letters, which then contacted the Secret Service. The Secret Service learned of the letters between 9pm and 11pm ET on Saturday.
It was not on the radar of law enforcement
Blanche said Sunday that “there is no indication yet” that Allen is on law enforcement’s radar.
“We are still investigating what we know about this person,” he said.
Blanche said Allen had purchased “the two firearms he had on him” within the last two years and that “he also had knives on him.”
Despite the apparent breach of security and widespread statements that security at the event was unusually lax, Blanche said she was “more than confident the Secret Service was doing their job here.”
Allen “barely got past the perimeter, was immediately subdued… This is law enforcement doing exactly what they’ve trained their whole lives to do.”
— CNBC’s Ryan Ruggiero contributed to this report
