A Secret Service agent guarded a hallway after a gunman opened fire during the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington on April 25, 2026. KEN CEDENO/REUTERS
Documented premeditation, desperate execution. In a single weekend, Cole Tomas Allen became famous, compromising the rest of his life. According to the police, this computer technician left his home in Torrance, California, then crossed the US by train to the federal capital, passing through Chicago, Illinois. On April 24, he checked in at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
The following evening, the 31-year-old man left a manifesto in his hotel room. He packed legally purchased weapons in his luggage: a shotgun, a handgun and knives. He then went down to the lobby, attempting to pass through the security gates blocking access to the basement where the reception hall was located. Inside, Donald Trump had just taken his seat alongside the highest-ranking officials in his administration. That Saturday, the American president was the guest of honor at the annual gala dinner organized by the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA).
As the evening had only just begun, gunshots were heard in the reception hall, prompting a surge of agents onto the stage. They evacuated the president, who had briefly fallen to the ground, along with those seated near him, including his wife, Melania, and the vice president, JD Vance. The gunshots had come from outside.
