DC-Shooting at White House Correspondents Dinner, April 25, 2026

[BayouBelle_LA]

Trump said the man was armed with multiple weapons before being stopped by the Secret Service.

Metropolitan Police Department Interim Chief Jeffery Carroll later said those weapons included a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.
(…)
Law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the suspect. He was not hit by gunfire and was taken to a hospital to be evaluated, D.C. officials said.
(…)
He will be arraigned on Monday, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said.

White House correspondents dinner shooting suspect is from California, President Trump says

The shooting suspect is Cole Tomas Allen, Hearst Television’s National Investigative Unit has learned via sources. Allen is from the Torrance area.

www.kcra.com

 

[Betty P]

He had multiple weapons including what sounded like an assault rifle. It sounds like he wasn’t targeting one particular person, but many.

ETA: He had a shotgun, not an assault rifle. Also believed to have a pistol and multiple knives.

 

[NuttMegg]

SBM He was stopped by the DC Metro Police.

Now that is interesting.

 

[airportwoman]

doesn't security have metal detectors at the entrance(s) to an event like this? invitation only?

It sounds like the guy rushed the security guards. Initial reports said the Secret Service killed him, but that's not true.

 

[Betty P]

It sounds like the guy rushed the security guards. Initial reports said the Secret Service killed him, but that's not true.

Yes, in the security video you could see him running towards the check point. He was moving very fast.

 

[airportwoman]

Cole Tomas Allen: New Details Emerge on WHCA Dinner Shooting Suspect | Cedar News

New details are emerging about the suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting in Washington, D.C.

cedarnews.net

The shooter graduated from Cal Tech with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

And a master's in computer science.

He'll be making license plates (figuratively speaking) for the rest of his life.

 

[NuttMegg]

And a master's in computer science.

He'll be making license plates (figuratively speaking) for the rest of his life.

Motive will be interesting, if discernible. He's no dummy with all that math and science.

 

[Dotta]

 

[Izzylizzy]

snip:

Who is Cole Tomas Allen?​

'On his LinkedIn profile, Allen identifies himself as a "game dev, engineer, scientist, teacher" from the Los Angeles area.


He's a graduate from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2017, going on to earn his Master of Science in Computer Science at the California State University-Dominguez Hills in 2025.

Caltech confirmed to Newsweek that they had records of Allen graduating from the university in 2017, but said the institution had "no further information at this time."

While at Caltech, he took part in the Caltech Christian Fellowship and the Caltech Nerf Club.

Allen was employed by tutoring company C2 Education as recently as December 2024, when he was honored as "Teacher of the Month" for his work at the company's Torrance location. His employment history lists him as working at the company since 2020 in a part-time capacity.


He also worked as a self-employed game developer who worked on a top-down shooter/role-playing game called First Law. He also developed and released Bohrdom in 2018, which is billed as a racing title with a “bullet hell as experienced by self-propelled pinballs.”

Who is Cole Allen? Suspect identified as correspondents' dinner shooter

Cole Allen, 30, of California was identified as the suspect who opened fire outside the White House Correspondents' dinner.

www.newsweek.com

 

[JDG]

DBM

 

[eash]

Why is he naked?

This. If he was naked and got through security, this is even more bizarre.

 

[eash]

Sorry for the analogy - but it is like shooting fish in a barrel. How was no one hurt besides the secret service agent. He apparently got off 5 shots.

 

[dkaras]

Sorry for the analogy - but it is like shooting fish in a barrel. How was no one hurt besides the secret service agent. He apparently got off 5 shots.

JMO it's not so easy to hit moving targets. Everyone was moving. He wasn't a sniper, and didn't start shooting when no one was aware he was there. Even then, I think (I have heard) that even snipers can "only" hit about 3 targets before people start moving then it's much harder to hit more targets.

All JMO.

Edited to add: Also I don't think he was using a machine-gun-type weapon? I'll have to check. But you said "5 shots" so I'm thinking not.

 

[airportwoman]

Why is he naked?

One picture I saw had him on the floor, wearing what appeared to be pajama bottoms.

 

[Dotta]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2048282683218829715

"Federal prosecutors have moved quickly
and already announced he is being charged
with two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence
and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon."

 

[Vaderman]

A Shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

The president is safe after chaos at the Washington Hilton, and a suspect is reportedly in custody.

www.theatlantic.com

Trump sat onstage for several seconds after the shots, watching people dive under tables before he was swarmed by his heavily armed security. It was the same hotel outside of which President Ronald Reagan was shot and injured in 1981. From then on, Washingtonians have known the sprawling building as the “Hinkley Hilton,” after the shooter John Hinkley Jr.

 

[lucky181]

He's well educated and intelligent. Did he consider actually surviving this or was he thinking that he would be killed by LE?

 

[SaharaLoba]

A Shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

The president is safe after chaos at the Washington Hilton, and a suspect is reportedly in custody.

www.theatlantic.com

Trump sat onstage for several seconds after the shots, watching people dive under tables before he was swarmed by his heavily armed security. It was the same hotel outside of which President Ronald Reagan was shot and injured in 1981. From then on, Washingtonians have known the sprawling building as the “Hinkley Hilton,” after the shooter John Hinkley Jr.

Watching the video, I counted ten seconds (via the video timer) between hearing the first shot and when Secret Service got to and was in front of POTUS. Again, I just can't imagine/understand how that occurred. Ten seconds, in an active shooting, in a room that should have been highly secured and that included numerous protectees of the Secret Service. (In a hotel colloquially know by the name of a man who almost assassinated a POTUS there decades ago!)

 

[iamshadow21]

Absolutely damning account of the lack of security by ABC Americas editor John Lyons, one of the many who huddled under furniture when the attack began.

This was one of the most vulnerable moments ever for a US government

The ABC Americas editor was inside the ballroom in Washington DC when the drama unfolded as a shooting suspect was stopped by the Secret Service.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Yellowbelly]

Motive will be interesting, if discernible. He's no dummy with all that math and science.

Maybe one of those highly intelligent people with no common sense. How could anyone possibly think that they'd be able to successfully rush the door of a room containing virtually all the US government.