Cole Tomas Allen Shot At White House Correspondents’ Dinner Security Checkpoint, Trump Evacuated

A gunman opened fire near a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC, and President Donald Trump was evacuated from the gala dinner on Saturday night, according to NBC News and the BBC.

NBC News said the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, who lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance, is the armed man federal authorities subdued near the packed ballroom where Trump and other White House officials gathered.

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The NBC News account said Allen was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives when he rushed a security checkpoint and ran toward the ballroom, and that he exchanged gunfire with law enforcement and was tackled to the ground.

The BBC reported that Trump was evacuated after the suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, was tackled by agents just short of a staircase leading down to a ballroom where the annual dinner was getting under way.

The BBC also said officials said he possessed multiple weapons and appears to have acted alone, and that in an exchange of fire, a federal agent was hit but saved by his bullet-proof vest.

The Associated Press account in PBS said a man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside the dinner, rushing toward the ballroom before Secret Service agents swarmed him and took him into custody, and that the president was uninjured and hustled away.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that authorities believe the suspect “traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then Chicago to Washington, D.C.”

Investigators and reporting described a written note in which the suspect indicated he was targeting Trump administration officials, and the note did not mention Trump by name.

NBC News said Allen believed it was his duty to target Trump administration officials, according to a note he sent family members about 10 minutes before the Saturday attack, and it quoted Allen writing, “Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest.”

ABC News

NBC News also quoted Allen’s apology language, including “I don’t expect forgiveness,” and “Again, my sincere apologies.”

The New York Times said the roughly 1,000-word note law enforcement officials attributed to the suspect “does not mention Mr. Trump by name,” and it reported that the note said the suspect could no longer allow a “traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”

The New York Times also quoted Todd Blanche saying in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” “The system worked,” and “We were safe. President Trump was safe.”

CBS News reported that the suspect wrote a “manifesto” stating he planned to target Trump administration officials, “prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest,” and that he wrote that law enforcement, hotel employees and guests weren’t his intended targets but that he would still attack them to get to the administration.

The BBC added that Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the suspect was targeting administration officials including, most likely, the president, and it said the suspect appeared to have acted alone.

Reporting and officials’ comments after the shooting centered on whether security measures were sufficient and what changes might be needed for future events.

The BBC said the suspect was tackled just short of a staircase leading down to the ballroom and that officials said he possessed multiple weapons and appears to have acted alone, while it also described CCTV footage posted by Trump showing a person rushing past security officers who then chased him.

The New York Times said security experts asserted that the measures had worked as intended, noting that the suspect never reached the ballroom where Trump, his wife and top administration officials were about to dine, and it quoted Todd Blanche saying, “The system worked.”

Reuters, via the South China Morning Post’s account of Reuters reporting, said two former Secret Service agents and three senior US officials told Reuters that federal agents appeared to carry out their plan to protect the president effectively on Saturday night, stopping the alleged gunman before he reached the basement level of the Washington Hilton where Trump was set to speak.

However, the Reuters-linked account said the fact that some attendees could hear the shots fired at a Secret Service agent underscored vulnerabilities, and it said the officials suggested security personnel may need to expand the protective perimeter around the president at large public venues.

The Guardian also framed the incident as raising fresh questions about the security of top officials gathered in the hotel’s expansive ballroom, and it said Todd Blanche told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “It does appear that he did in fact, have set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president.”

CBS News described how the Washington Hilton remained a functioning hotel with numerous public spaces during the dinner and that the entire building wasn’t secured by the Secret Service, just the specific areas where the dinner was held.

Multiple outlets reported reactions from Trump and senior officials, alongside comments from political figures and security-related voices.

In NBC News’ account, Trump called the suspected shooter a “whack job” and a “lone wolf” in a press briefing shortly after the attack, and NBC News also quoted Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on “Meet the Press” saying authorities believe the suspect traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington, D.C.

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The Guardian quoted Trump speaking from the White House briefing room while still in black-tie attire, saying the gunman was a “very sick person” and a “lone wolf, whack job”, and it quoted Trump saying, “It’s a dangerous profession.”

PBS quoted Trump at the White House two hours later saying, “When you're impactful, they go after you. When you're not impactful, they leave you alone,” and it also quoted him saying, “They seem to think he was a lone wolf.”

The Guardian also quoted Todd Blanche telling NBC’s “Meet the Press” that “It does appear that he did in fact, have set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president.”

PBS quoted Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser saying she had “no reason” to believe anyone else was involved, and it quoted Blanche saying charges related to Saturday night's attack will be filed shortly and that the investigation is “obviously ongoing and just started.”

The Guardian included comments from Lanhee Chen and Jamie Raskin that linked the incident to broader concerns about political violence and gun violence.

As the immediate aftermath unfolded, reporting described the suspect’s expected court appearance and the next steps for investigations and potential security changes.

NBC News said the suspect is expected to be charged in federal court on Monday, and it described that Allen was taken to a local hospital after being subdued.

BBC

The New York Times said the suspect was expected to be charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, with more charges possible, and it said Jeanine Pirro expected arraignment in federal court on Monday.

BBC News said the suspect will appear in court on Monday and described the dinner’s history dating back to 1921.

PBS said the event was canceled for the night and would be rescheduled, quoting Weijia Jiang saying, “We will do this again.”

CBS News reported that Allen’s brother called police in Connecticut after receiving the email and that authorities found other writings at his home in Torrance and in his 10th-floor hotel room at the Washington Hilton Hotel.

Reuters-linked reporting and The Guardian both connected the incident to broader scrutiny of security protocols and political violence concerns.