FBI agents work Sunday, April 26, 2026, at an address in Torrance, California, connected to Cole Tomas Allen, who was identified as the shooting suspect at the White House Correspondents Dinner the night before. DAMIAN DOVARGANES / AP
The suspected attacker in the shooting that plunged a press gala attended by US President Donald Trump into chaos has been identified by news media as a 31-year-old California man. Just hours after the incident, Trump shared a photo of the suspect handcuffed and face down on the carpeted floor of the Washington Hilton, a floor above where over 2,000 guests had gathered for the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.
The man with brown hair and a moustache was identified via law enforcement sources as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from Torrance, California. A LinkedIn profile with that name and a photo appearing to match the suspect said he was a "mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth."
It listed an undergraduate degree from the California Institute of Technology. The university confirmed to AFP in a statement that a person named Cole Allen graduated in 2017. He was part of the Caltech Christian Fellowship and Nerf Club, according to his profile.
