Who is Cole Allen? Suspect Identified as Correspondents' Dinner Shooter

The shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA) dinner has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old teacher from California, the Associated Press reported, citing two law enforcement officials.

President Donald Trump at a press conference held shortly after the incident described Allen as a “lone wolf” and a “whack job.” He said Allen was armed with “multiple weapons” when he tried to enter the dinner, but he was stopped outside the Washington Hilton’s ballroom by law enforcement.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced that Allen was charged with two counts of Using a Firearm During a Crime of Violence and a count of Assault On an Officer Using a Dangerous Weapon. Pirro said that further information could lead to additional charges.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser confirmed that Allen acted alone in his attempt to breach the dinner.

Who is Cole Tomas Allen?

On his LinkedIn profile, Allen identifies himself as a “game dev, engineer, scientist, teacher” from the Los Angeles area.

He’s a graduate from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2017, going on to earn his Master of Science in Computer Science at the California State University-Dominguez Hills in 2025.

While at Caltech, he took part in the Caltech Christian Fellowship and the Caltech Nerf Club.

Allen was employed by tutoring company C2 Education as recently as December 2024, when he was honored as “Teacher of the Month” for his work at the company’s Torrance location. His employment history lists him as working at the company since 2020 in a part-time capacity.

He also worked as a self-employed game developer who worked on a top-down shooter/role-playing game called First Law and a racing game called Bohrdom.

What Happened at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner?

In video that Trump posted on Truth Social, Allen is seen sprinting through a security checkpoint, which had a metal detector, and past any security guards.

Metropolitan police later identified the weapons as a shotgun, a handgun, and “multiple knives.” He was shot by law enforcement but was ultimately taken down and apprehended.

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This story was originally published April 25, 2026 at 10:28 PM.