Shooting at White House Correspondents' Dinner: What Happened and What We Know
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| Shooting at White House Correspondents' Dinner: What Happened and What We Know |
April 28, 2026
A man armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and several knives rushed a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner on Saturday evening, exchanging gunfire with Secret Service agents outside the ballroom where President Donald Trump and hundreds of guests were gathered. Trump was evacuated safely. The suspect was arrested at the scene. On Monday, he was charged in federal court with attempting to assassinate the president.
The Event and the Attack
The 2026 dinner was held at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. — the same hotel where President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981. It was the first time Trump attended the event as a sitting president; he had skipped it throughout his first term.
According to the Department of Justice, at approximately 8:40 p.m. EDT, the suspect — identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California — ran through a magnetometer at a security checkpoint on the Terrace Level of the hotel, holding a long gun. A Secret Service officer stationed at the checkpoint was shot once in the chest. The officer was wearing a ballistic vest and is expected to recover. The officer returned fire, and Allen fell to the ground. He was arrested near the screening area. He was not struck by gunfire but was taken to a hospital for evaluation, according to law enforcement.
About ten minutes before the attack, at approximately 8:30 p.m., Allen sent an email to family members and a former employer. The DOJ released the contents: "I wish I could have said anything earlier, but doing so would have made none of this possible. My sincerest apologies for all the trouble I've caused. (scheduled send)-Cole." Allen signed the email "Cole 'coldForce' 'Friendly Federal Assassin' Allen."
Inside the ballroom, Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other administration officials were at the front of the room when what sounded like gunshots were heard. Video captured attendees ducking under tables as armed officers moved in and removed the president, vice president, and others. Security personnel cleared the ballroom at approximately 9:20 p.m., effectively ending the evening's event.
The Suspect
Allen is from Torrance, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. According to law enforcement sources cited by CBS News and court documents from the DOJ, Allen earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Caltech in 2017, and a master's degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills, in 2025.
His travel leading up to the attack was reconstructed by prosecutors. On April 6, Allen made a reservation at the Washington Hilton for April 24 through 26. On April 21, he traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, arriving in Chicago on April 23. He then boarded a train to Washington, D.C., arriving at approximately 1 p.m. on April 24 and checking into the hotel that day. He was a registered hotel guest at the time of the attack — staying on the 10th floor — and used an interior stairwell to bypass more heavily monitored areas of the building, according to hotel surveillance footage reviewed by senior law enforcement officials cited by CBS News.
He carried a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun he purchased from a California firearms dealer on August 17, 2025, and a .38-caliber semi-automatic pistol he purchased in October 2023. Both weapons were confirmed by federal database records, according to the DOJ.
What Allen Said He Intended
Court documents unsealed Monday included an email Allen allegedly sent to family members stating that administration officials — excluding FBI Director Kash Patel by name — were "targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest." Sources told CBS News that Allen told law enforcement he was trying to shoot officials from the Trump administration. The Department of Justice said in its preliminary findings, released Sunday, that Trump appeared to be the intended target.
Allen's sister told the Secret Service and Montgomery County police after the shooting that her brother had a tendency to make radical statements and had referred to a plan to do "something" to fix what he saw as problems in the world, according to a senior administration official cited by NBC News. A Bluesky account verified by NBC News and believed to belong to Allen contained posts critical of the Trump administration, the US involvement in the 2026 Iran war, and Russia's war in Ukraine.
Charges
On Monday, Allen appeared in US District Court in Washington, D.C. The Department of Justice charged him with three counts: attempting to assassinate the President of the United States, transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. He faces the potential of life in prison if convicted.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at a press conference Monday: "Law enforcement did not fail. They did exactly what they were trained to do." He added that Allen "was a floor above the ballroom, with hundreds of federal agents between him and the president."
US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said the night of the shooting: "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."
Reactions and Security Questions
The Secret Service confirmed in a statement that Trump, the First Lady, and all protectees were safe. Former President Barack Obama condemned the attack. Leaders from multiple countries also issued statements condemning it.
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Monday after being briefed by Secret Service Director Sean Curran that he "saw no indication" of a security lapse. "They gave us a good explanation, answered our questions," he said.
Trump, speaking at a White House briefing shortly after the shooting, said: "I like not to think about it. I lead a pretty normal life, considering, you know, it's a dangerous life." Appearing on CBS's 60 Minutes the following day, he called for the dinner to be rescheduled within 30 days with additional security. "The event turned out to be much less bad because nobody was killed," he said.
The White House Correspondents' Association president, CBS News journalist Weijia Jiang, described Saturday as "a harrowing moment" and said the WHCA board would meet to assess what happened and determine how to proceed.
The FBI said Monday it had obtained lawful access to Allen's phone and launched investigative teams to Los Angeles and to New London, Connecticut, to gather further evidence.
Historical Note
This is the third apparent attempt on Trump's life since 2024, following the July 2024 attack in Butler, Pennsylvania, and the September 2024 incident at Trump's golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida. The Washington Hilton was also the site of the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
Sources: US Department of Justice (official charging documents), CBS News, NPR, CNN, NBC News
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