The suspect in the shooting that occurred outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night is a trained mechanical engineer who works as a teacher in Torrance and traveled across the country to cause “as much damage as possible,” sources and officials said.
The shooting sparked chaos inside the Hilton Hotel’s ballroom, which was crowded with thousands of journalists as well as President Donald Trump and members of his government.
Live updates: The suspect in the WHCA dinner shooting is armed with multiple guns and knives
What we know about Cole Allen
Law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance. Trump said, in a press conference after the incident, that the gunman was captured on surveillance video running toward a Secret Service security checkpoint.
Local authorities said law enforcement forces dealt with the suspect after the exchange of gunfire. Interim Metropolitan Police Department Chief Jeffrey Carroll told reporters that the suspect was armed with a rifle, a handgun and several knives. Carroll said initial information indicated he was a “solo actor.”
Law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation said Allen was refusing to answer questions, but he allegedly made some unspecified references to targeting administration officials.
Authorities have not yet determined the motive behind the shooting. But D.C.’s U.S. Attorney, Jeanine Pirro, told reporters at a news conference Saturday evening: “It’s clear, based on what we know so far, that this person was intent on doing as much harm as possible.”
According to his LinkedIn profile, Allen graduated in 2017 from Caltech, where he lists membership in the school’s Christian Fellowship and Nerf Club. He graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering before earning a master’s degree from Cal State-Dominguez Hills in 2025, the profile said.
Allen described himself on LinkedIn as an “independent game developer” who created a video game that he described as “a skill-based, non-violent asymmetrical fighting game loosely derived from an alchemical paradigm loosely based on reality,” according to the game’s Steam page.
Allen’s current employer, C2 Education, named Allen its “Teacher of the Month” last year, according to a LinkedIn post. C2 Education and its CEO did not immediately respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.
Allen is not registered with any political party. Los Angeles County voter registration records him as having “no party preference,” according to voter registration records viewed by ABC News.
The FBI raids the home of suspected Torrance
KABC was on the ground and saw FBI agents arriving outside the suspect’s home on Gramercy Street in Torrance. There was a very large law enforcement scene in the residential neighborhood, including FBI agents wearing tactical gear and armored vehicles.
At one point, AIR7 video surfaced showing the home’s occupants speaking with federal agents on the front porch. It was later found that the lights were focused on the second floor window and the front door.
The agents were finally able to get in just before midnight.
Before agents arrived, Kevin Ozibek, a reporter for ABC affiliate KABC in Los Angeles, was able to knock on the door where authorities believe Allen lived. No one answered, but a neighbor said he often saw Allen riding his motorcycle in the neighborhood.
“I walked the dog out here and got caught up in this circus of helicopters, media and neighbors,” said Eric Urey, who lives nearby.
“The fact that his house is here does not define the city of Torrance in that way. The actions of one person do not represent the entire city,” Torrance Mayor George Chen told KABC at the scene. He noted that Allen is not a teacher at Torrance School, but rather a teacher at a private company.
What’s next for the suspect?
Pirro added that Allen, who was taken to hospital after being subdued, will be arraigned on Monday. He suffered a knee injury during the takedown, but is expected to be OK, law enforcement officials said.
Allen is charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon, Pirro said. She said additional charges may follow.
More details about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Trump said after the incident that a Secret Service member was shot during the incident, but the bullet hit the agent’s protective vest. The president said he spoke with the client and he was in good spirits.
Shortly before the White House press conference, Trump released a video showing agents subduing Allen, who he said “attacked a security checkpoint armed with numerous weapons.”
“He started running from 50 yards away, and he was fast. He was like a blurry picture on tape,” Trump said of the suspect.
Carroll told reporters that police believed Allen shot Secret Service agents, but investigators were collecting shell casings and waiting for ballistics evidence to confirm.
When asked if the president was the target, Carroll said it was too early to know. “What his specific motive was, we can’t say at this point,” he said.
Law enforcement officials said Allen is believed to have booked a room at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the dinner was held, in early April.
Law enforcement officials said initial information indicates the suspect traveled from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington, D.C. Investigators say they are piecing together the suspect’s movements and contacts over recent days, before checking into the Hilton hotel on Saturday.
Searches for the suspect were continuing in Southern California and Washington, D.C., on Sunday morning, law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation told ABC News.
Investigators have recovered Allen’s phone and other devices and plan to access them once they obtain search warrants, officials said.
ABC News’ Lauren Minor, Luke Barr, Nicholas Kerr, Evan Pereira, Aaron Katirsky, Josh Margolin, John Santucci, Michelle Stoddart, Lucien Brueggemann, Oren Oppenheim, Katherine Faulders and Peter Charalambos contributed to this report.
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