Suspected gunman at Washington press dinner identified as 31-year-old Californian

• Posted on April 27, 2026April 27, 2026
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

The man arrested after shots were fired inside the hotel where the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was being held on Saturday night has been named by law enforcement officials as Cole Tomas Allen.

The 31-year-old suspect is from Torrance in the Los Angeles region, California.

After he was detained by security agents inside the Washington Hilton hotel he told law enforcement officials he wanted to shoot officials in the Trump administration, two sources told CBS, the BBC’s US news partner.

In Sunday’s interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said the motive of the suspected shooter was still under investigation, but that “preliminary” findings suggested he was targeting administration officials, “likely” including President Donald Trump.

Blanche said investigators were now looking at reports that the alleged gunman had assembled the weapon in the hotel, stressing that he “didn’t get very far”.

“He barely broke the perimeter,” Blanche said, adding that the suspect likely travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then to Washington DC.

The BBC’s partner CBS News has seen a written document believed to be linked to the suspect. Other US media have reported on the same document.

It says 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.

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

BBC Verify has been looking into the online presence of the suspect.

Los Angeles County’s voter registration records appear to show he had registered no party preference.

According to a Federal Election Commission record, seen by BBC Verify, in October 2024 Allen donated $25 (£18) to the fundraising platform ActBlue with the money earmarked for Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign.

Allen describes himself as a mechanical engineer, game developer and teacher on LinkedIn.

According to his profile, he studied mechanical engineering at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) a highly competitive university, where he took part in its Christian fellowship.

He graduated with a masters in computer science in 2025 from California State University, Dominguez Hills, marking the milestone by sharing a photo of himself in graduation robes to LinkedIn. He also developed and released a game called “Bohrdom” to the gaming platform Steam.

On Facebook, photos of Allen – which BBC Verify has matched to those of his arrest at the Washington Hilton hotel – show him smiling in family photographs at Christmas and graduation events.

In December 2024, he was named teacher of the month by C2 Education, which offers tutoring and college test preparation to students, according to the organisation’s Facebook post.

He has been a part-time teacher there since 2020, his LinkedIn profile says.

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.