Staff writers
The alleged gunman who tried to storm into the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington DC was a tutor and computer programmer from California.
Police have identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, who was a guest at the Washington Hilton where the annual gala dinner is held.
Interim DC Police Chief Jeffery W. Carroll alleged Allen was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. He said investigators had no reason to believe that anyone else was involved.
Allen is facing two firearm-related charges, including using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault of a federal officer with a deadly weapon.
US attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said the suspect – who she did not name – would face the US District Court on Monday (US time) and additional charges were expected.
The suspect was not shot, but was transported to Howard University Hospital for assessment, according to people aware of the transfer.
Social media posts that appear to match the California man arrested on Saturday night (US time) suggest he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted on social media by US President Donald Trump.
The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena in 2017. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
A local ABC station in Los Angeles included an interview with Allen during his senior year of college as part of a story about new technologies to help people as they age. He had developed a prototype for a new type of emergency brake for wheelchairs.
Allen contributed $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee in support of Kamala Harris for president in 2024, according to federal campaign finance records.
According to his online resume, Allen has worked for the past six years at C2 Education, a company that offers admissions counselling and test preparation services to aspiring college students. A 2024 post on the company’s Facebook page listed Allen as the company’s teacher of the month. The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Saturday night.
Allen also posted that he had developed a video game for the Steam platform based on molecular chemistry. A post under Allen’s name said he was working to develop a new “top-down shooter” combat game set in outer space
A spokesperson for the California Institute of Technology told The New York Times that a person named Cole Allen had earned an undergraduate degree in 2017, but that the school had no other information to disclose immediately.
“The university cannot confirm if this is the same suspect identified in the April 25 shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner,” the statement read, adding that the university “unequivocally condemns this act of violence, as well as all forms of violence”.
Records suggest Allen lived in a modest, two-storey home in the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance. After news of the shooting broke, police cordoned off the street and circled helicopters overhead, while news crews and neighbours gathered on the footpath, though the house was dark and it was not clear if anyone was inside, The New York Times reported.
In the driveway, two Hondas were parked next to a bright blue motor scooter that neighbours told The New York Times Allen had used for errands.
FBI Director Kash Patel has urged anyone with information to come forward.
With AP, Bloomberg
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