A gunman armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives charged a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, DC on Saturday evening, forcing President Donald Trump to be rushed off stage by Secret Service agents before the suspect was shot and taken into custody.
No fatalities were recorded, and one Secret Service officer struck by a bullet was released from hospital the same evening after the round was stopped by his protective vest.
The annual dinner, held at the Washington Hilton Hotel, brings together senior government officials and the Washington press corps each spring.
Saturday’s event had attracted Trump as a presidential attendee when the incident unfolded in the hotel lobby, forcing the evacuation of the ballroom and sending guests to the floor as Secret Service agents secured the scene.
What happened at the Washington Hilton
Authorities identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, a resident of Torrance, California. According to his LinkedIn profile, Allen graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.
Officials confirmed that he had no prior criminal record and was not known to law enforcement in Washington, DC before the attack.
Allen charged a Secret Service checkpoint in the hotel lobby with three weapons before exchanging gunfire with agents. He was shot and tackled at the scene and remained in federal custody on Saturday evening.
Speaking to media at the White House following his evacuation, Trump described Allen as a “lone wolf” and confirmed that the gunman had been “armed with multiple weapons.”
Trump also said Allen had been “taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service.”
The agent who was shot during the confrontation was discharged from hospital the same evening, with his ballistic vest credited with absorbing the round. No guests or other officials at the dinner were injured during the incident.
Charges and what comes next
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced that Allen would face charges of using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, as reported by CNN.
The charges were confirmed while Allen remained in federal custody on Saturday night.
Federal investigators are expected to spend the coming days working to establish a motive, with officials noting that Allen had no known affiliations or prior law enforcement contact that would have placed him on any watch list.
The attack is widely expected to prompt a review of security protocols for events involving the president at non-government venues, with White House officials indicating that further information would be released as the investigation progresses.
