Cole Tomas Allen Charged Through Security in Four Seconds at Washington Hilton Press Gala

Federal prosecutors released new video footage showing Cole Tomas Allen charging through a security checkpoint in “just four seconds” as President Donald Trump attended a press gala at the Washington Hilton, according to BBC reporting.

“New footage shows how Trump dinner gunman charged through security in four seconds A gunman burst out of a hotel doorway and charged through a security checkpoint in just four seconds as President Donald Trump was attending a press gala, according to new footage released by prosecutors”

BBC

The BBC said the CCTV clip “appears to show a security agent opening fire in the direction of the sprinting gunman,” while also noting “it is unclear if he discharges it.”

BBC

The BBC reported that the clip “does not show the moment where investigators say the alleged attacker fell over and was arrested at the Washington Hilton on Saturday.”

Prosecutors said Allen is carrying a long-barrelled weapon and that the video shows him “casing the area” at the hotel on the day before the dinner, when he allegedly checked in as a guest.

The BBC further reported that Allen is accused of carrying “a semi-automatic handgun, a pump-action shotgun and three knives” as he ran through a terrace level, “one floor above the basement ballroom where the high-profile press gala was unfolding.”

The BBC said Trump, Vice-President JD Vance, cabinet members and other White House officials were rushed from the venue after gunfire rang out.

It also reported that a Secret Service spokesman told the BBC, “The officer was struck in the ballistic vest, but was not seriously injured,” and that prosecutors’ memo “makes no mention of any officer being shot.”

Across multiple outlets, the central dispute in the aftermath of the Washington Hilton incident has been whether the Secret Service officer’s injuries came from Allen’s gun or from other law enforcement.

The BBC reported that Jeanine Pirro posted on X, writing, “There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire,” while also noting that a memo filed by prosecutors “makes no mention of any officer being shot.”

CBC

DW reported that prosecutors released the video “amid speculation that a Secret Service officer was struck by friendly fire,” and quoted Pirro’s statement: “There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire.”

CNN described prosecutors’ position as well, saying DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro stated, “There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire,” in posting the video online.

WKYT, citing AP, said Pirro posted the video “amid questions over whose bullet struck a Secret Service officer,” and that prosecutors had previously claimed the agent was shot in the bullet-resistant vest “but had not confirmed it was Allen who shot the agent.”

NBC News reported that a criminal complaint said Allen “fell to the ground and sustained minor injuries, but was not struck by gunfire,” and that investigators said “a U.S. Secret Service officer, who was wearing a ballistic vest, was shot once in the chest.”

The Guardian added that prosecutors claimed Allen fired first and hit the agent who returned fire, but that “that contention has been challenged by the public defenders acting on Allen’s behalf.”

Prosecutors’ video releases also focused on Allen’s movements in the Washington Hilton before the attack, describing them as evidence that he was “casing the hotel” and preparing to reach the security checkpoint near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

“Prosecutors filed new evidence Thursday including video showing the moments before the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner that President Donald Trump and administration officials attended at the Washington Hilton hotel in DC on Saturday night”

CNN

The BBC said prosecutors’ video “also shows Allen ‘casing the area’ at the hotel on the day before the dinner,” when he allegedly checked in as a guest, and it described him walking down a Washington Hilton corridor and “popping into the hotel's gym.”

CNN similarly reported that “Prior to the shooting, the video shows Allen wandering through the halls and areas of the hotel Saturday night,” which Pirro said shows that Allen was “casing the hotel.”

DW described the nearly six-minute video as showing the suspect “casing the area” as he walked back and forth in a Washington Hilton hallway the day before the gala dinner and “briefly entered the hotel gym.”

WKYT, citing AP, said the nearly six-minute video released by Pirro shows Allen “walking back and forth down a hallway the day before the attack, and briefly checking out the hotel gym.”

The Guardian said Pirro claimed the video showed Allen “casing the hotel location the night before Saturday’s dinner,” and then “shooting a Secret Service agent as he rushed through a metal detector at a checkpoint.”

NBC News added details from a criminal complaint, saying Allen approached a security checkpoint on the terrace level of the hotel “around 8:40 p.m. Saturday,” and then ran through a magnetometer with a long gun.

Secret Service Director Sean Curran defended the agency’s security plan and described the attack as being stopped quickly at the outermost perimeter of a multi-layered security bubble around the president.

WKYT reported Curran said in a Fox News interview that the attack was stopped “within seconds at the outermost perimeter of a multi-layered security bubble around the president.”

DW

Both DW and CBC reported Curran’s account of the physical layout, with DW stating that “there was only a 355-foot distance from the metal detectors to the podium where Trump was seated.”

CBC likewise said Curran stated that “The distance from the magnetometers to the podium where Trump was seated was 355 feet, with two sets of stairs, a doorway and many more armed Secret Service officers in between.”

The BBC also included Curran’s comments, reporting that he told Fox News the suspect had fired at a Secret Service agent at “point-blank range” and that “Our officer heroically returned fire while being shot point-blank range in the chest with a shotgun.”

In the BBC’s version, Curran said the officer was able to get off “five shots,” and that “It appears that the suspect hit his knee, while being engaged by the officer, on one of our magnetometer boxes and began to fall to the ground.”

DW said the nearly six-minute video shows about a dozen federal officers taking down metal detectors at the checkpoint, and that “The agent appears to shoot at the suspect at least three times in the video,” while authorities say the gunman was not shot.

While prosecutors and the Secret Service argued over what the video shows, the case moved forward with Allen remaining in custody and facing multiple charges tied to the alleged attempt to assassinate President Trump.

“The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner this past weekend will remain in custody”

NBC News

NBC News reported that public defenders for Cole Tomas Allen pushed for release, but at a hearing Thursday they said he was “conceding detention at this time,” and that Allen “agreed earlier Thursday to remain jailed while he awaits trial.”

NBC News

DW similarly said “The suspect on Thursday agreed to remain in custody while his case moves forward,” and that his attorney, Tezira Abe, said he would not immediately contest prosecutors’ arguments that he was a danger to the community.

The BBC said Allen “is charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner,” and that he “has not yet entered a plea.”

WKYT, citing AP, said Allen “did not enter a plea during his brief appearance in federal court,” and that he was charged on Monday with the assassination count plus “two additional firearms counts,” including discharging a weapon during a crime of violence.

NBC News provided sentencing ranges, saying the charge of attempting to assassinate carries “a sentence of up to life in prison if convicted,” and that transportation of a firearm and ammunition carries “up to 10 years,” while the third count can carry “an additional term of a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison.”

Snopes addressed a separate online claim that a photo showed Trump behind a curtain during the shooting, concluding that “users miscaptioned the image” and that the man shown was “not Trump.”