The United States is reeling after another shooting – this time, during the prestigious White House Correspondents’ dinner.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is facing two firearm-related charges after opening fire near the room where Donald Trump and several other high-profile cabinet members were dining.
Allen is believed to be a teacher from California, but his motive for the shooting remains unclear.
Social media posts found that Cole was named ‘Teacher of the Month’ on December 2024 by C2 Education, a nationwide private test-preparation and tutoring service for college-bound students.
His LinkedIn describes him as a ‘mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth.’
After attending both the California Institute of Technology and California State University, he obtained a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.
Police said Allen had been armed with a shotgun, handgun and multiple knives, but Trump shared the motive that he was acting as a ‘lone wolf’.
‘They seem to think he’s a lone wolf, and I feel that too,’ Trump said.
Allen had no criminal record and hadn’t set off any alarms for law enforcement in Washington DC, police said.
DC Metro Police Chief Jeffery W. Carroll said investigators believe Allen was staying at the Washington Hilton hotel, where the prestigious dinner had been taking place.
He added: ‘We have secured a room here in the hotel, and again, we’ll go through the appropriate procedures to determine what was inside there.’
Timeline of Trump assassination attempts and major security threats
June 18, 2016: Assassination attempt at Las Vegas rally
While Trump was giving a presidential campaign speech at the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, a British man, Michael Steven Sandford, attempted to grab a Las Vegas police officer’s pistol.
September 6, 2017: Forklift attack, North Dakota
On September 6, 2017, in North Dakota, Gregory Lee Leingang stole a forklift and attempted to drive it toward the presidential motorcade while Trump was visiting.
September 20, 2020: Ricin poisoning attempt
On September 20, 2020, Pascale Cécile Véronique Ferrier was arrested in Buffalo, New York, after a ricin-laced letter was intercepted, intended for Trump.
July 12, 2024: Murder-for-hire plot
A Pakistani national, Asif Merchant, was arrested and later convicted of running a murder-for-hire plot on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to kill Trump.
July 13, 2024: Assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania
On July 13, 2024, shooter Thomas Crooks fired eight shots from an AR-15–style rifle at Trump while speaking at a rally near Butler, Pennsylvania.
Trump was shot and wounded in his upper right ear before dropping to the ground and being shielded by the Secret Service.
Crooks also killed one member of the audience, Corey Comperatore, and critically injured two others, before being shot and killed by a member of the Secret Service.
September 15, 2025: Assassination attempt in West Palm Beach, Florida
On September 15, 2024, Ryan Routh was sighted with a rifle at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, while Trump was golfing at the club.
Routh was arrested after fleeing the scene and was sentenced to life in prison earlier this year.
February 22, 2026: Mar-a-Lago intruder
An armed intruder was shot dead on Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in February.
Austin Tucker Martin was named as the gunman killed by the Secret Service at the president’s Florida retreat.
April 25, 2026: White House Correspondents’ dinner
Gunshots rang out at the Washington Hilton hotel, where the formal White House Correspondents’ Dinner was taking place on Saturday, with Trump and Melania being rushed off stage.
The suspect, Coel Tomas Allen, was arrested on the scene.
The shooting unfolded just outside the vast ballroom holding thousands of dinner guests, disrupting minutes after it began an annual event meant to honour journalism and the First Amendment.
The president told reporters later that he hoped the event would be rescheduled within 30 days, though the fact that an armed man was able to rush towards the ballroom raised questions about security precautions at a dinner attended each year by senior US government officials.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran towards him. One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but is recovering, officials said.
The gunman was tackled to the ground and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.
Allen, 31, is facing two firearm-related charges, including a count of assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon.
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