What we know about the suspect in the White House correspondents' dinner shooting
The suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner Saturday night is a trained mechanical engineer working as a tutor who traveled across the country to perpetrate "as much damage as he could," officials said.
Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, has been federally charged with attempted assassination of the president of the United States, transportation of a firearm and ammunition over state lines with the intent to commit a felony and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.
U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said Monday that the suspect's "intent was to bring down as many of the high-ranking cabinet officials as he could."
The shooting, near the main magnetometer area for the event, sparked chaos inside the Hilton hotel ballroom, which was packed with thousands of journalists as well as President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet.
Trump, in a news conference after the incident, said the gunman was captured on surveillance video sprinting towards a Secret Service security checkpoint.
"He started running from 50 yards, and he was fast. He was like a blur on tape," Trump said of the suspect.
Local authorities said the suspect was tackled by law enforcement after an exchange of gunfire.
A Secret Service member was shot during the incident, but the bullet hit the agent's protective vest, Trump said after the incident.
Allen allegedly attempted to assassinate Trump using a 12-gauge pump action shotgun and was also carrying a .38 caliber semi-automatic pistol, three knives "and other dangerous paraphernalia," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jocelyn Ballantine said Monday.
Law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation said that Allen was declining to answer questions but allegedly made some non-specific reference to targeting administration officials.
The suspect sustained a knee injury in the takedown and was taken to the hospital after he was subdued, law enforcement officials said.
Based on preliminary information, the suspect is believed to be a "lone actor," Interim D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Jeffrey Carroll told reporters.
Suspect booked room at hotel
According to the federal criminal complaint, on April 6, Allen made a reservation at the Washington Hilton, where the dinner took place, for Friday through Sunday.
Allen traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago on Tuesday, and then from Chicago to D.C. on Thursday and Friday, according to the criminal complaint. He checked into his hotel room at the Hilton at 3 p.m. Friday, the complaint said.
At about 8:40 p.m. Saturday, Allen approached a security checkpoint on the hotel's terrace level, which leads toward the ballroom, the complaint said.
As Allen ran through the magnetometer holding a long gun, Secret Service "heard a loud gunshot" and an officer was shot in his ballistic vest, the complaint said.
The suspect bought his pistol in 2023 and his shotgun in 2025, the complaint said.
Social media history
Allen is not registered with any political party; his voter registration in Los Angeles County lists him as "no party preference," according to voter registration records viewed by ABC News.
He appears to have shared social media posts that were critical of Trump and his administration -- including calling for Trump’s removal -- on the social media platform Bluesky.
In addition to sharing posts denouncing Trump’s policies -- including the war with Iran, increased ICE enforcement actions, and the U.S. diminished support for Ukraine -- Allen also appeared to share posts criticizing a reporter in connection with the correspondents' dinner. His account shared posts that described an effort to highlight press freedoms related to the event as "pathetic" and akin to a "white flag ... [to] wave in defeat."
"Our Trust & Safety team is actively reviewing and taking action against content that violates Bluesky’s Community Guidelines, including posts that amplify misinformation, or glorify violence or harm," Bluesky said.
A 'very intelligent' tutor
Allen is a trained mechanical engineer who works as a tutor in Torrance, according to a LinkedIn page associated with him.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Allen graduated in 2017 from CalTech, where he listed memberships in the school's Christian Fellowship and Nerf Club. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering before earning a master's degree from Cal State-Dominguez Hills in 2025, the profile said.
Allen characterized himself on LinkedIn as an "Indie Game Developer" who created a video game he described as "a skill-based, non-violent asymmetrical fighting game loosely derived from a chemistry model that is itself loosely based on reality," according to the game's Steam page.
Allen's current employer, C2 Education, named Allen its "Teacher of the Month" last year, according to a post on LinkedIn. C2 Education and its CEO did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment.
A group of high school students who were tutored by Allen shared a statement late Sunday describing him as "generally very intelligent" and "normal and friendly."
Former pastor, neighbor speak out
His former pastor, Rev. Movses Janbazian, struggled to square the man described by federal officials as an aspiring mass killer with the hard-working student who attended sermons each week at his Pasadena United Reformed Church in South Pasadena.
"Nice, gentle, smart young man," Janbazian recalled in an interview on Monday with ABC News. "It's obviously very surprising to hear his name appear in the news in this way."
Allen joined the United Reformed Church congregation during his time at Caltech. Janbazian said Allen would frequently bring coursework to church.
Paul Thompson, a neighbor of the Allen family described Allen as "not very sociable."
"I've seen him a hundred times coming and going and walking by. But I've never had a conversation with him,” Thompson said.
Thompson described Allen’s father, on the other hand, as "kind of like the neighborhood mayor, knows everybody by first name.”
"Everybody likes him. He’s a very sociable guy," Thompson added of Allen's father. "This is going to be very, very difficult ... on his family."
Torrance Mayor George Chen said in a statement on Saturday night that it was "deeply troubling" that the suspect is from his city.
"Tonight, our community joins the nation in condemning the violent incident that occurred in Washington, D.C., during the White House Correspondents' Dinner," Chen said in the statement, in part.
"Torrance is a community built on respect, diversity, hard work, and public safety," the statement continued. "The City of Torrance stands firmly against political violence, extremism, and acts of hatred in any form. We reject attempts to sow fear or division, whether here at home or anywhere in our country."
ABC News' Lauren Minore, Luke Barr, Nicholas Kerr, Ivan Pereira, Aaron Katersky, Josh Margolin, John Santucci, Michelle Stoddart, Lucien Bruggeman, Oren Oppenheim, Katherine Faulders and Peter Charalambous contributed to this report.
