What we know about suspected Washington press dinner gunman

(BBC News) New information is emerging about Cole Tomas Allen – who was identified by US officials as the man who was arrested after shots were fired inside the hotel where the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was being held on Saturday night.

The 31-year-old suspect, who described himself as a mechanical engineer, game developer and teacher, is from Torrance in the Los Angeles region of California. He is due to appear in court today (Monday).

Police said Allen exchanged fire with security agents on a level of the Washington Hilton hotel that was one floor above the room in which Trump had gathered with members of his cabinet and journalists.

After he was detained, Allen told officials he wanted to shoot officials in the Trump administration, two sources told CBS.

US media are reporting a history of anti-Trump social media posts from 31-year-old Allen, citing law enforcement sources.

BBC Verify has been looking into social media accounts with the same username reportedly used to sign a document, described as a manifesto, which is believed to be linked to the suspect.

One post on X from November 2024 said the user had voted for Kamala Harris.

A person with the same username also posted on the social network Bluesky. In January they wrote: “The country will continue to crash and burn until people stop asking when other people will step up.” In April they posted that US President Donald Trump was a “villain” and a “desperate man”.

Resharing a video of Vice-President JD Vance saying that stopping funding for the war in Ukraine was one of his proudest achievements, the user wrote “he’s proud that we don’t uphold our commitments” before using an expletive.

A Bluesky post earlier this month criticised plans by some journalists to wear white pocket squares at the White House correspondents’ dinner, to promote press freedom, calling them “pathetic”.

Meanwhile, the BBC’s partner CBS News has seen that written document, and other US media have also reported on it.

The document said the gunman wanted to target members of the Trump administration “from highest-ranking to lowest”, and that while guests and hotel staff were not the intended targets, they would be attacked if necessary to get to the officials.

BBC News has not independently verified the alleged writings, which have been described as a manifesto and were reportedly sent to the suspect’s family members before the attempted attack.

On Sunday, Trump told Fox News that the suspect “had a lot of hatred in his heart for a while”, and said his family knew he had “difficulties”. He, too, suggested the suspect had a manifesto, and suggested the man was “strongly anti-Christian”.

Trump later told CBS’s 60 Minutes program that the suspect “was a Christian – believer, and then he became an anti-Christian, and he had a lotta change”.

The suspect was a guest at the Washington Hilton hotel where the correspondents’ dinner was taking place, said Washington interim police chief Jeffery Carroll.

Carroll added that the suspect had been armed with a shotgun, handgun and multiple knives when he mounted his attack. And he appears to be a lone gunman.

Between five and eight gunshots were fired during the incident. CCTV footage posted by Trump shows a person rushing past security officers, who then turn and chase him.

Trump later posted a close-up photo showing a shirtless man on the floor with his hands cuffed behind his back with Secret Service agents standing around him.

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the suspect was targeting administration officials including, most likely, the president.

He did not get very far, he said. “He barely broke the perimeter,” Blanche said, adding that the suspect had likely travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then to Washington DC.

Pictures later emerged showing FBI agents and police searching an area at a California address believed to be linked to the alleged gunman.

Jeanine Pirro, US attorney for Washington, said the suspect was now facing two charges – using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cr717nglye0o