Cole Allen's first court appearance: 5 chilling things to know about WH dinner shooting suspect
Cole Tomas Allen is a 31-year-old who is accused of opening the fire at the White House correspondent’s dinner on Saturday night and he is set to appear in federal court in Washington, DC, on Monday. Here is everything we know so far:
1. What happened at the dinner night
Authorities say Allen allegedly opened fire as he tried to enter the ballroom at the Washington Hilton, where former President Donald Trump and senior officials were gathered.
Surveillance footage showed him leaving his room dressed in black, carrying a shotgun, a handgun and knives in a bag. He used a stairwell to avoid security and headed toward the ballroom, where Secret Service officers stopped and tackled him.
Officials said 5 to 8 shots were fired. One officer was hit but his bulletproof vest saved him and he is expected to be okay. Trump was quickly taken away and was not hurt.
2. He is an engineer, a game developed and a teacher
As per his LinkedIn profile he is a game developer, engineer, scientist and teacher.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 and later completed a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 2025.
Bin Tang, a computer science professor who taught Allen, told CBS News that, “He was a very good student indeed, always sitting in the first row of my class, paying attention, and frequently emailing me with coursework questions. Soft spoken, very polite, a good fellow. I am very shocked to see the news.”
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The manifesto and warming signs
Authorities say they found a written manifesto in which Allen described himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” and criticized actions taken by the US government under President Donald Trump, though he did not name him directly.
Allen shared some of his writings with family members before the attack. A family member also told investigators that Allen had been making extreme statements for some time and often talked about doing “something” to fix problems in the world. They also said he regularly practiced at shooting ranges, according to CBS News
3. How he planned and prepared
According to reports, Allen traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then went to Washington, DC. He checked into the Washington Hilton a day before the event.
As per Newsweek, a White House official said that his sister said he had bought two handguns and a shotgun from Cap Tactical Firearms and kept them at their parents’ home without them knowing. And as per CBS News, the shotgun was bought in August 2025 and another pistol in 2023.
Also Read: What charges is WHCD shooting suspect Cole Allen currently facing? What we know so far
4. Charges being faced by Cole Allen
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said on Saturday night that Allen is facing two counts of using a firearm during a violent crime and one count of assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon, according to Newsweek. She also said more charges could be added after today’s court appearance.
“It is clear, based upon what we know so far, that this individual was intent on doing as much harm and as much damage as he could,” Pirro said. “And thankfully, because of the checkpoint right outside the ballroom, where thousands of people were situated to hear the president of the United States because that checkpoint worked, there was no one who was injured when it was clear where this defendant was going.”
5. What Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said
Additionally, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told CBS News’ Face the Nation that more charges will depend on what investigators find about Allen’s motive and planning.
“There’s a lot of federal charges that could be in play beyond those two charges, but it depends on us understanding his motive, his intent, his premeditation of what led into him deciding he was going to do what he did,” Blanche said.