A California man, later identified as Cole Tomas Allen, was in custody on Saturday, suspected of charging past a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in the Washington Hilton and exchanging gun fire with law enforcement.
President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and other Cabinet officials were evacuated safely.
The president, alongside FBI Director Kash Patel and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, addressed the nation and White House reporters in the briefing room just over an hour after the reported gunfire, notably still dressed in tuxedoes.
Here’s what is currently known about the shooting and suspect:
California man named suspect
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, Calif., has been identified as the suspect.
Blanche shared on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” early Sunday that based on evidence collected in the preliminary investigation, they believe the suspect’s intent was to target Trump administration officials who were at the dinner.
Shortly after the incident on Saturday evening, law enforcement in California arrived at Allen’s home and secured the area. Blanche said that it is believed Allen traveled from Los Angeles to Chicago and Chicago to Washington via train.
Blanche was questioned about the country’s security, including how Allen was able to possibly travel coast to coast with firearms and enter the hotel with them. He said they would be examining the hotel’s security and that Trump and the administration would not be deterred from the public eye.
Officials continue to scrutinize the hotel’s security. Due to the Hilton’s layout, the ballroom is on a lower level, where attendees go through a security screening.
Other parts of the hotel are open for guests staying in the rooms, as well as other events honoring the Correspondents’ Dinner. Still, the area is staffed heavily with law enforcement and the roundabout drive-up entrance to the main lobby was barricaded.
“The system worked,” Blanche said of law enforcement. “We were safe; President Trump was safe.”
Allen is a California Institute of Technology graduate that recently won a “teacher of the month” award.
He was a guest staying at the Washington Hilton, where the dinner was taking place, and was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives, law enforcement confirmed.
The suspect exchanged gunfire with officials before being stopped by Secret Service. He did not reach the ballroom or floor where the dinner was being held.
The president shared an image online of Allen face-down on the carpet after being apprehended.
A Secret Service officer was struck by gunfire in his bulletproof vest and transported to a local hospital and is in “good spirits,” law enforcement said.
Allen was not hit by gunfire. The officer was the only person injured.
It is believed that Allen was working alone and there were no other suspects. Trump shared in the briefing room that they believe the suspect was a “lone wolf actor.”
According to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro, he will be arraigned on Monday. She praised the act of heroic law enforcement that stopped what could have been a mass shooting.
“It is clear that this individual was intent on doing as much harm as he could,” she said.
Allen will be charged with two counts — using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, Pirro said.
The FBI is asking for anyone with tips to send in information as the investigation is ongoing. While the investigation is still in early stages, the shooting Saturday marks another event in which political violence in the United States is on the rise.
“The investigation is brand new,” Blanche said, cautioning that things with Allen could change.
Chaos at the Hilton
Video of the annual dinner honoring the press captured several loud noises before Secret Service and law enforcement quickly dragged Trump, Vance and others away from the main ballroom stage.
Event attendees ducked underneath tables as other security officials began to remove members of the Trump administration’s Cabinet and members of Congress.
Secret Service and law enforcement ran to the suspect and secured the surrounding areas.
It was initially unclear if the dinner would resume and White House Correspondents’ Association President CBS News Correspondent Weijia Jiang said it would in some capacity. Trump even shared online after being secured that he wanted the show to go on.
Security officials ultimately deemed it best protocol for the event to conclude. Trump said he wanted to reschedule the dinner within the next 30 days.
The tense evening came amid heightened attention and scrutiny of annual event this year. It was the first time Trump attended the Correspondents’ Dinner after passing up the association’s invitation in previous years.
A coalitions of journalists and press organizations called on Jiang and the other directors to use their platform at the dinner to send an explicit message to Trump and other officials about the importance of a non-partisan protection of the First Amendment.
During her opening remarks just before the shots rang out, Jiang thanked Trump and the first lady Melania Trump, for attending and made note of the evening’s First Amendment importance.
Later, in dismissing the crowd for the evening, she noted that journalism is a public service because “when there is an emergency, we run to the crisis, not away from it.”
“And on a night when we are thinking about the freedoms and the First Amendment, we must also think about how fragile they are. I saw all of you reporting, and that’s what we do,” Jiang said. “So, thank God everybody is safe and thank you for coming together tonight.”
Shortly after, in the briefing room, Trump offered Jiang the first question to kick off the reporters’ line of questioning after doing a “fantastic job” at the dinner. She asked the president what was going through his mind at the moment he was swept off stage.
“There wasn’t a lot of time to be thinking because it was a matter of seconds before we were out the door and gone into an area,” he said. “We very much wanted to continue (the dinner) because I don’t like to let these sick people, these thugs, these horrible, horrible people, change the fabric of our life.”
“And I understand there was protocol, but we’re going to be doing one hopefully within the next 30 days or sooner,” Trump added.