President Donald Trump and officials in his administration were the likely targets of a
suspect who fired on a security agent guarding the White House
Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, U.S. Acting
Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday.
The man fired a shotgun at a Secret Service agent at a
security checkpoint in the Washington Hilton hotel before being
tackled and arrested. Trump and first lady Melania Trump were
rushed out of the dinner.
“It does appear that he, he did, in fact, have set out to
target folks that work in the administration, likely including
the president,” Blanche told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” adding
that the suspect likely traveled by train from Los Angeles to
Chicago and then to Washington.
The suspect will be charged in federal court on Monday with
assault of a federal officer, discharging a firearm and
attempting to kill a federal officer, Blanche said, adding he
did not know if there was an Iran connection to the attack.
CONDEMNATION OF SHOOTING
Trump told reporters at a late-night White House briefing
that he believed he was the target of the attack. He said the
Secret Service officer was saved by his bulletproof vest and was
in “good shape.”
U.S. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi confirmed
the officer had been released from a hospital.
ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl reported that Trump
called him on Sunday morning and insisted that the White House
Correspondent’s Association reschedule the dinner. “It has to
happen,” Karl said Trump told him.
Around the world, leaders condemned the attack, and
expressed relief that Trump and all present were safe,
demonstrating solidarity with the United States. NATO leader
Mark Rutte called it an attack “on our free and open societies”
and leaders stressed violence had no place in a democracy.
The British embassy, which is preparing for King Charles’
visit to Washington starting on Monday, said in a statement that
discussions were taking place on whether the incident may affect
planning for the visit. A pre-visit brunch hosted by Britain’s
ambassador to the U.S., Christian Turner, was scheduled to
proceed on Sunday.
SUSPECT THOUGHT TO BE ‘LONE WOLF,’ TRUMP SAYS
A law enforcement official identified the suspect as Cole
Tomas Allen, a California resident about 31 years old. Little
was immediately known about Allen’s background, but social media
postings suggested he was a teacher in Torrance, near Los
Angeles.
Washington Interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said the
suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.
He was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated but it was too
soon to say what his motivation was, Carroll said.
Bloomberg reported that Allen purchased a shotgun 8 months
ago and a semi-automatic pistol 2 years earlier, citing a law
enforcement intelligence profile.
Blanche said the suspect appeared to have checked into the
Washington Hilton on Friday. Without naming the person, he said
the suspect was not cooperating with investigators.
“There is something unique about the threats against
President Trump and his cabinet that is disgusting and it
shouldn’t be happening,” Blanche said on “ABC This Week.”
The chaotic events from around 8:35 p.m. raised fresh
questions about the security of top U.S. officials, many of whom
were gathered in the hotel’s expansive ballroom.
A focus of the investigation is likely to be how the gunman
was able to smuggle the weapons into a hotel hosting one of
Washington’s biggest black-tie events. Guests entering the lower
ballroom area are screened by security, but the lobby and room
levels are not secured.
The dinner was attended by many members of Trump’s cabinet
and other senior administration officials amid heavy security.
It was the first time Trump attended the event as president,
having boycotted it in previous years.
The site of the dinner was the scene of an attempt on the
life of President Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded by a
would-be assassin outside the hotel in 1981.
Closed-circuit TV footage released by Trump on Truth Social
showed the suspect running rapidly through a security
checkpoint, momentarily catching security personnel off-guard
before they drew their weapons.
No shots were fired at the gunman who got through two
checkpoints before being brought down.
“You know, he charged from 50 yards away, so he was very far
away from the room. He was moving. He was really moving,” Trump
said after the gala dinner was canceled.
Officials believe he is a “lone wolf,” Trump said.
HOW IT UNFOLDED
Video footage shows Trump and his wife sitting at a banquet
table on stage in conversation with someone when a commotion at
the rear of the ballroom – caused by the noise of gunshots –
triggers a ripple of gasps through the room.
People started screaming “Get down, get down!” Many of the
2,600 attendees dressed in tuxedos and ball gowns took cover
under tables as security personnel drew their weapons, with some
pushing cabinet secretaries to the floor and covering them with
their bodies while others formed a protective cordon.
Security personnel in combat fatigues stormed the stage
pointing rifles into the ballroom as Trump, his wife Melania and
Vice President JD Vance were evacuated. Cabinet members who had
been sitting at tables dotted around the vast room were escorted
out by their security details one by one.
Trump stayed backstage for about an hour after being hustled
from the stage, a source told Reuters. He later said he had not
wanted to leave the event, a remark that echoed images of him
defiantly pumping his fist after narrowly escaping an
assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024.
In that attempt, Trump was wounded in his upper ear by a
20-year-old gunman, who was shot dead by security personnel.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson, Nandita Bose, Jana Winter, Steve
Holland, Kanishka Singh, Tim Reid, Jonathan Landay, Steve
Gorman, Trevor Hunnicutt, Susan Heavey, Jasper Ward, Gram
Slattery, Humeyra Pamuk and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Writing
by Tim Reid and David Lawder; Editing by William Mallard, Sergio
Non, Ross Colvin, Caitlin Webber and Bill Berkrot)
Published on April 26, 2026
