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A law enforcement official has identified Cole Tomas Allen as the suspect apprehended following the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Allen, hailing from the Los Angeles vicinity, is portrayed on social media as a graduate of the California Institute of Technology, who currently juggles roles as a part-time educator and game developer.
During the event, Secret Service agents swiftly evacuated U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. The evacuation was prompted by an assailant who discharged a shotgun at security staff.
The Secret Service confirmed that the suspect wielded a shotgun and was detained after firing at a Secret Service agent outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel. The event was attended by President Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and several cabinet members.
According to police officials in the United States, Allen, estimated to be 31 years old, resides in Torrance, California. This coastal town, part of the South Bay region, is situated near Los Angeles and adjacent to Santa Monica Bay.
The head of the District of Columbia police department stated that investigators suspect Allen might have been a guest at the Washington Hilton during the annual dinner, although his motive remains unclear.
Here’s what we know about the suspected shooter.
A teacher and mechanical engineer
Facebook postings appearing to relate to Cole show that he was named “Teacher of the Month” in December 2024 by the Torrance office of C2 Education, a nationwide private test-preparation and tutoring service for college-bound students
A LinkedIn profile in the suspect’s name describes him as a “mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth.”
He obtained a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2017, and a master’s degree in computer science from California State University at Dominguez Hills in 2025, according to the profile. Caltech said in a statement that a person of that name graduated in 2017.
Under job experience, the post shows he has worked for the past several years as a part-time teacher for C2 Education and as a self-employed game developer. He previously worked as a mechanical engineer for a company called IJK Controls in South Pasadena for a year before that as a Caltech teaching assistant.
The profile also includes a local newspaper article “on a robotics competition my team won” at Caltech in 2016.
Under “Causes,” it lists only: “Science and Technology.”
Trump describes suspect as “sick”
Trump described the suspect as a “sick” individual and “a would-be assassin who sought to kill”.
Trump said he was grateful for the swift response of law enforcement.
“This is not the first time in the past couple of years that a Republican has been attacked by a would-be assassin who sought to kill,” Trump said.
US authorities said they could not yet confirm whether the president was the intended target. Local police said they could not specify the “specific motivation” but described him as a “lone gunman”.
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