What We Know About the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting Suspect Cole Tomas Allen

Cole Tomas Allen is facing a minimum of two charges in relation to the April 25 incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner

NEED TO KNOW

• Cole Tomas Allen was arrested on April 25 in connection with the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
• The 31-year-old allegedly targeted President Donald Trump and administration officials
• He is facing a minimum of two charges

Cole Tomas Allen is facing charges related to the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

On April 25, Allen was taken into custody after injuring a Secret Service agent during the annual press event, attended by President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance, among other major political figures. Footage captured from the event shows that Secret Service agents rushed them off the stage after gunshots were heard.

Shortly after, the president spoke at a press conference and said that the alleged gunman appeared to have been a "lone wolf."

"A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of the Secret Service, and they acted very quickly," he said.

Here's everything to know about White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen.

He is from California

Allen is a 31-year-old teacher from Torrance, Calif. He grew up alongside siblings, including a brother and sister.

Following the April 25 incident, his sister told the Secret Service and Montgomery County Police that Allen had allegedly made radical statements and would often refer to a plan to do "something" about the current state of the world.

According to White House officials, Allen's sister claimed that he was part of a group called "The Wide Awakes," and he attended a "No Kings" protest against Trump in California.

She also told investigators that Allen would allegedly go to a shooting range to train regularly. She claimed that he had purchased two handguns and a shotgun, which he stored at their parents' home without their knowledge. (Law enforcement officials told CBS News that one of the weapons is believed to have been used in the April 25 shooting.)

He has a mechanical engineering and computer science degree

A LinkedIn profile with Allen's name and photo that has since been deleted said that he obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in 2017 from the California Institute of Technology, followed by a master's degree in computer science in 2025 from California State University at Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), according to Reuters, The New York Times and CNN.

Caltech confirmed in a statement to Reuters that a person with his name graduated in 2017.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) said in a statement to PEOPLE that "a student named Cole Allen graduated with a master's degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 2025," but added that the school could not confirm if it was "the same suspect identified in the April 25 shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner."

The profile referred to him as a "mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, ​independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth," according to several outlets.

Allen also works as a part-time teacher at C2 Education, a private test preparation and tutoring company, per the since-deleted profile. C2 Education awarded Allen "teacher of the month" in a LinkedIn post shared in December 2024 that is no longer available.

He was accused of firing shots during the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 25

On April 25, Allen was taken into custody after injuring a Secret Service agent during the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Footage captured from inside the event shows the moment that Secret Service agents rushed the president off the stage after gunshots were heard. Melania, Vance and press secretary Karoline Leavitt were also seen being removed.

Allen previously described himself as a "friendly federal assassin" in writings that authorities have tied to him, per The Wall Street Journal.

"I experience rage thinking about everything this administration has done," he continued in the document.

Allen also expressed his surprise over how easy it was for him to bring weapons onto the premises before the dinner, writing that he "expected security cameras at every bend, bugged hotel rooms, armed agents every 10 feet, metal detectors out the wazoo," per The Wall Street Journal.

"What I got (who knows, maybe they're pranking me!) is nothing," he continued, adding that he interpreted their lack of strong security as a "sense of arrogance."

"I walk in with multiple weapons and not a single person there considers the possibility that I could be a threat," he wrote, per the outlet, which also noted that his writings indicated that he was specifically targeting Trump.

He wrote a “manifesto” in relation to the incident

White House officials told PEOPLE that the suspected gunman wrote a "manifesto" in relation to the April 25 incident.

"The suspect's written manifesto clearly stated he wanted to target administration officials," they said.

Allen's brother also told local police that Allen sent the writings to his family minutes before the shooting at the political event.

He is now facing at least two charges

Allen will face two charges: using a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, per U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro.

Pirro noted that it's likely the suspect will face additional charges.

Allen is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday, April 27.

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