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

[indicolite22]

Apparently the suspect lived with his family:

Colin, a 39-year-old neighbor who declined to give his last name citing privacy concerns, said the current residents of the home had just moved in six months ago.

According to a different neighbor the family was friendly:

“We see them every day and we just say hi and they’re very nice,” he said. “They’re peaceful people, they don’t make any noise and when they see you they say hi.”

What we know about Cole Tomas Allen, Torrance teacher suspected in WHCD shooting

President Trump said the man who was arrested after a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Assn. dinner was from California. Law enforcement officials identified him as a graduate from Caltech.

www.latimes.com

 

[indicolite22]

Apparently he was also an inventor. This was in 2017 (the year he obtained his mechanical engineering degree):

The clip, from ABC7 Los Angeles (KABC), shows a young Cole Allen — described as a Caltech student at the time — demonstrating a prototype wheelchair emergency brake at a tech conference focused on helping seniors.
“The wheelchair brakes tend to lock the wheels, but don’t lock the chair to the ground. But with this device, that will prevent the chair from skidding at all,” Allen said in the segment.

White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect Cole Allen seen on local news segment from 2017 touting his invention

A 2017 local TV news segment featuring a man identified as the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect has resurfaced online in the wake of the incident.

nypost.com

 

[Ontario Mom]

White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect Cole Allen admits he was targeting Trump officials: report

White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect Cole Allen admits he was targeting Trump officials: report

Allen, a teacher from Torrance, Calif., was identified by sources as the suspect accused of rushing a security checkpoint armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives before he was subdued.

nypost.com

…

Hoping that’s a life sentence.

Jmo

I'm just glad no one was seriously hurt, including the shooter. Such a stupid and vile thing to do.

jmo

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Magnetometers for guests? Maybe so.

ETA: Now Trump's message is: "This is why we need the new ballroom". How about fewer galas and parties?

I wonder if King Charles will cancel his upcoming visit? I wouldn't blame him if he did.

A new ballroom won't do anything. This was a private event, not hosted by him. I think it's a good point about hotels allowing guests with these types of weapons, especially if there's an event of this magnitude already scheduled to be held within the hotel.

MOO.

 

[mickey2942]

The shooter sounds SO much like Ted Kaczynski. In a few years, he probably would have been in a cabin in Montana.

Ted Kaczynski - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Elley Mae]

WHCD gunman Cole Allen sent anti-Trump manifesto, said he wanted to take out Trump officials: ‘The Friendly Federal Assassin’

Exclusive | WHCD gunman Cole Allen sent anti-Trump manifesto, said he wanted to take out Trump officials: ‘The Friendly Federal Assassin’

Gunman Cole Allen sent an anti-President Trump manifesto to his family members about 10 minutes before opening fire at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

nypost.com

…

 

[Ontario Mom]

WHCD gunman Cole Allen sent anti-Trump manifesto, said he wanted to take out Trump officials: ‘The Friendly Federal Assassin’

Exclusive | WHCD gunman Cole Allen sent anti-Trump manifesto, said he wanted to take out Trump officials: ‘The Friendly Federal Assassin’

Gunman Cole Allen sent an anti-President Trump manifesto to his family members about 10 minutes before opening fire at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

nypost.com

…

So he decided his opinion was fact, and declared himself judge, jury, and executioner, all in one.
Rather horrifying.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Allen is a 31-year-old from Torrance, California, and is a professional game designer with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills, according to the AP.

He earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at California Institute of Technology, also known as CalTech. Over the course of his professional career, Allen had developed numerous video games that allow users to shoot and attack.

One of Allen’s games, known as “First Law,” is a 2D Newtonian physics-based platformer released on Steam in 2024. Another is labeled “Bohrdom,” which Allen described as a “combination of a racing game with a bullet hell as experienced by self-propelled pinballs,” per Fox News.

https://www.wjbf.com/news/u-s-world-news/who-is-cole-allen-the-suspect-in-the-white-house-correspondents-association-dinner-shooting/

What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE. This event would never have happened with the Militarily Top Secret Ballroom currently under construction at the White House. It cannot be built fast enough!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump reiterates need for White House ballroom after Correspondents' Dinner shooting

President Donald Trump said on Sunday the shooting at the Correspondents' Dinner would have "never happened" if the event had taken place in a secure ballroom o

nbcmontana.com

 

[Sundog]

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

Well written and well stated account.

Essentially, this man, armed with at least two guns and several knives, was one door away from being able to get into a room full of some of the most powerful, important, influential people in the United States.

If he'd got through those doors, it's dreadful to think what he could have done.

 

[Elley Mae]

So he decided his opinion was fact, and declared himself judge, jury, and executioner, all in one.
Rather horrifying.

Yeah, the guy that has two degrees working part time as a tutor, drives a moped and lives at home acted on his opinion listening to main stream media.

Jmo

 

[Yellowbelly]

WHCD gunman Cole Allen sent anti-Trump manifesto, said he wanted to take out Trump officials: ‘The Friendly Federal Assassin’

Exclusive | WHCD gunman Cole Allen sent anti-Trump manifesto, said he wanted to take out Trump officials: ‘The Friendly Federal Assassin’

Gunman Cole Allen sent an anti-President Trump manifesto to his family members about 10 minutes before opening fire at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

nypost.com

…

"In order to minimize casualties, I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls)"

If he thought he could take out Presidential level security with a shotgun firing buckshot, then he really was clueless.

“The security at the event is all outside, focused on protestors and current arrivals, because apparently no one thought about what happens if someone checks in the day before.
Like, this level of incompetence is insane, and I very sincerely hope it’s corrected by the time this country gets actually competent leadership again.”

Serious questions do need to be asked about the security for this event. If they're holding an event where the biggest half of the Presidential line of succession is in attendence in a building where random members of the public are also staying, not checking the paying guests seems something of an oversight.

I'm reminded, actually, of the Brighton Bombing in 1984, where the the IRA placed a 105 pound bomb under the bath in a room in the Grand Hotel, knowing that Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet would be staying in that hotel three weeks later for the Conservative Party conference. The security services didn't even bother searching the upper floors and the IRA very nearly succeeded in killing Thatcher when the bomb exploded.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Yeah, the guy that has two degrees working part time as a tutor, drives a moped and lives at home acted on his opinion listening to main stream media.

Jmo

I think we'll find out that social media was way more culpable than main stream media in influencing his opinions.

MOO.

 

[Sundog]

So he decided his opinion was fact, and declared himself judge, jury, and executioner, all in one.
Rather horrifying.

What a sicko.

Sad for his brother who reported the manifesto, but good for the brother for doing so. Sad for his entire family. And for the administration and guests who experienced this terrifying and traumatic event. Caroline Leavitt is about 8 1/2 months pregnant. How terrified she must have been.

 

[Arkay]

Whatever my personal opinion of RFK Jr., it is not lost on me that his father was shot to death in a hotel kitchen, and I’m sure he thought about that, as well.

All this time later and still such similar violence.

The shooter also reminds me a bit of the MGM Hotel Vegas shooter, just because he was a hotel guest as well.

I’ve never had my luggage checked as a hotel guest, and apparently it’s easy to reserve a room, have your murder weapons in your suitcase, and as a guest maybe you’re just not scrutinized too much.

HOWEVER——unlike the Vegas shooter, here you have the whole government line of succession in one room. No designated survivor as with the State of the Union.

There really should have been extra extra extra procedures in place, though thank God he did not ultimately get near his targets.

But too close for comfort. I do admire and praise the Secret Service and their bravery and training, but that hotel for an occasion like this has exposed the inherent deficiencies.

JMO

 

[lucky181]

I think he sent the manifesto to his family members because he did not think that he would be alive at the end of the night.

 

[BeginnerSleuther]

Whatever my personal opinion of RFK Jr., it is not lost on me that his father was shot to death in a hotel kitchen, and I’m sure he thought about that, as well.

All this time later and still such similar violence.

The shooter also reminds me a bit of the MGM Hotel Vegas shooter, just because he was a hotel guest as well.

I’ve never had my luggage checked as a hotel guest, and apparently it’s easy to reserve a room, have your murder weapons in your suitcase, and as a guest maybe you’re just not scrutinized too much.

HOWEVER——unlike the Vegas shooter, here you have the whole government line of succession in one room. No designated survivor as with the State of the Union.

There really should have been extra extra extra procedures in place, though thank God he did not ultimately get near his targets.

But too close for comfort. I do admire and praise the Secret Service and their bravery and training, but that hotel for an occasion like this has exposed the inherent deficiencies.

JMO

In fairness, I believe it's rare to have the whole government line of succession there. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is an event for the media. VIPs in government are invited (like POTUS), but it's rare to have so many people in the line of succession there.

I think there was likely a lot of complacency. This event has been going on for decades. It's meant to honor journalists, not politicians, and as far as I know, nothing like this has ever happened before. I think in the future, the only person who should be attending is POTUS, communications director, and press secretary. I just can't fathom any plausible reason that so many members of the federal government need to be there. It just makes the event a target and god forbid something happen, it could be catastrophic for the country.

MOO.

 

[shotgun09]

WHCD gunman Cole Allen sent anti-Trump manifesto, said he wanted to take out Trump officials: ‘The Friendly Federal Assassin’

Exclusive | WHCD gunman Cole Allen sent anti-Trump manifesto, said he wanted to take out Trump officials: ‘The Friendly Federal Assassin’

Gunman Cole Allen sent an anti-President Trump manifesto to his family members about 10 minutes before opening fire at Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

nypost.com

…

This gunman's deranged/unhinged ( and alarming to family ) rants quoted above sound awfully familiar to me.

Where have I heard these before?

Looking at MSM here, as one possible clue. Social Media? Without a doubt.

IMO

 

[imstilla.grandma]

The suspected shooter’s manifesto was “specific” and outlined a plan targeting Trump administration officials, according to a source familiar with the investigation. The New York Post reports that the manifesto noted that targeted officials were ranked by priority.


“Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” the manifesto read.

In addition, a law enforcement source tells NewsNation that Allen’s manifesto specifically stated he was not targeting law enforcement.

The accused gunman’s family had alerted police in Connecticut, Trump said,

Speaking with reporters on Sunday, Trump suggested Allen’s motivation were a “religious thing,” adding it was “strongly anti-Christian.”

“He’s got some big problems with the rest of his life”, Trump said.

“If you’re a consequential president you’re in much more danger than if you’re not a consequential president.”

What we know about the suspect in the WH Correspondents' Dinner shooting

A heavily armed man rushed a Secret Service checkpoint, exchanging gunfire with law enforcement before being subdued, officials said.

www.newsnationnow.com

 

[JoeFromLB]

Well written and well stated account.

Essentially, this man, armed with at least two guns and several knives, was one door away from being able to get into a room full of some of the most powerful, important, influential people in the United States.

If he'd got through those doors, it's dreadful to think what he could have done.

And with the top three men in the presidential line of succession together in the same room: President, Vice President, and Speaker of the House. The fourth person? The ancient senator Charles Grassley, not present. Then after him, Marco Rubio who was at the dinner.
What if this shooter had made it into the room with a bomb attached to his body? That's why he was stripped naked by the Secret Service.

 

[mickey2942]

And with the top three men in the presidential line of succession together in the same room: President, Vice President, and Speaker of the House. The fourth person? The ancient senator Charles Grassley, not present. Then after him, Marco Rubio who was at the dinner.
What if this shooter had made it into the room with a bomb attached to his body? That's why he was stripped naked by the Secret Service.

He wouldn't have had to make it into the actual room. If he had enough explosives and detonated right there, the building could have come down. Or at least a partial blast.