Suspect in Saturday evening’s shooting – Cole Tomas Allen – expected to be formally charged in court today
Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of US politics.The suspected gunman in the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday evening, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, from Torrance, California, is due to appear in court later today.
He is expected to be formally charged with using a firearm during a violent crime and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
“There’s a lot of federal charges that could be in play beyond those two charges but it depends on us understanding his motive, his intent, his premeditation of what led into him deciding he was going to do what he did last night,” acting US attorney general Todd Blanche told CBS News’ Face the Nation programme.
Preliminary findings suggest the shooter targeted the US president, Donald Trump, and officials in his administration, according to Blanche, who said the suspect should appear before a federal judge in Washington, D.C. on Monday.
