Cole Allen: What we know about suspected gunman at Trump dinner

The suspect who stormed through a security checkpoint and shot a Secret Service agent at the White House correspondents' dinner in Washington DC was armed with multiple weapons and knives, police say.

Donald Trump, first lady Melania and senior officials were quickly evacuated to safety from the annual event after several gunshots were heard outside the Washington Hilton Hotel ballroom where around 2,500 people were in attendance.

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The suspect has been identified by US authorities as 31-year-old Cole Allen, from Torrance, about 15 miles southwest of downtown Los Angeles.

Police have said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.

Officials have said he has no criminal record and was not on the radar of law enforcement.

He is set to be arraigned on Monday, in a federal court, and was set to be transported on Sunday to a detention facility in southeast Washington DC.

Jeffrey Carroll, interim chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department, said the suspect was involved in an altercation as he tried to get into the event.

The suspect exchanged shots with an officer, who was struck but was unharmed because he was wearing a bulletproof vest.

He was "tackled to the ground" and handcuffed by law enforcement before being apprehended, Mr Carroll added.

Officials believe Allen was acting alone, but while his motive is unclear, Todd Blanche, acting US attorney general, said the suspect appeared to be targeting Trump administration officials, "likely including the president".

Speaking to Sky News' US partner network, NBC News, he added that he does not believe that the suspect is
co-operating with the investigation.

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Mr Blanche added that the suspect travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then on to Washington DC, before checking into the hotel where the dinner was held.

Suspect's background

Sky News has verified Cole Allen's LinkedIn profile, in which he describes himself as a "mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent ‌game developer by experience, teacher by birth".

According to his profile, he secured a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena and a master's degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills.

It also says he was a summer undergraduate research fellowship student in 2014 at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, where he says he updated the "modelling capability for planets around several previously excluded stars".

Allen's online resume suggests he has worked for the last six years at C2 Education, a company which helps aspiring college students.

In December 2024, C2 Education said he was "teacher of the month", posting their congratulations to him on LinkedIn with hashtags including #DedicatedTeachers and #InspiringEducators.

One of his LinkedIn posts also said he was working to develop a new "top-down shooter" combat game set in outer space.

'Lone wolf whack job'

Speaking at a news conference after the incident, President Trump said he may have been the suspected gunman's target.

Earlier, Mr Trump uploaded a photo to his Truth Social platform claiming to show the alleged gunman being apprehended.

He described the suspect as a "lone wolf whack job" from California.

Suspect's writings

Asked if he knew about the suspected gunman, Mr Trump responded that Allen has "got some big problems, it's a very bad situation" after reading writings he made to his family.

"His family knew he had difficulty", Mr Trump said.

The New York Post reports that Allen sent anti-Trump writings to his family members 10 minutes before opening fire at the dinner.

Mr Trump told Fox News: "He hates Christians, that's one thing for sure... and I think his sister or his brother actually was complaining about it.

"They were even complaining to law enforcement, he was a very troubled guy."

'I apologise to everyone'

According to our US partner network, NBC News, the suspected shooter sent a note to family members before the shooting, apologising to parents, colleagues and bystanders for what he was about to do.

He wrote: "I apologise to everyone....who suffered before I was able to attempt this, to all who may still suffer after, regardless of my success or failure."

He added that he may have given " a lot of people a surprise today" and, although he did not name Mr Trump directly in the writings, he did criticise him and mentioned targeting the administration.

Administration officials were targets, the message adds, along with Secret Service agents "only if necessary, and to be incapacitated non-lethally if possible".

He added hotel guests and employees were "not targets at all" with Capitol police, National Guard and hotel security not targets "unless they shoot me".

Radical comments

Allen's brother had made police aware of the writings after they were sent to family members, a senior administration official told NBC News.

According to the official, there was anti-Trump sentiment and the suspected gunman had described his targets as administration officials, not guests or hotel employees.

The official said he had apologised to family and friends in writing and said he does not expect forgiveness.

Allen's sister described him to law enforcement as having a tendency towards making radical comments. He would also constantly reference a plan to fix issues with the world, the official added.

She told investigators Allen had purchased two handguns and a shotgun but that her parents were unaware he was keeping weapons inside their home, the official said.

'Friendly Federal Assassin'

The suspect had also referred to himself as "Friendly Federal Assassin" in writings, a source told the news agency AP.

Police believe the suspect was a guest at the Washington Hilton Hotel where the correspondents' dinner was being held.

"We do believe he was a guest here at the hotel. We have secured a room here in the hotel, and again, we'll go through the appropriate procedures to determine what was inside there," Mr Carroll said.

US attorney Jeanine Pirro has confirmed the suspect has been charged with firearms and assault charges.

Saturday evening was the first time that Mr Trump has attended the correspondents' dinner as president.

He was the subject of two assassination ​attempts in 2024, after he left the White House in 2021 and while he ​was campaigning for re-election.

The most serious occurred while Mr Trump was campaigning at an outdoor rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, ​in July 2024.

Mr Trump was shot and wounded in his upper ear by a 20-year-old gunman. The gunman ⁠was shot dead by security personnel.

The site of Saturday's dinner, the Washington Hilton, was the scene of ​an attempt on the life of then president Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded by a would-be assassin outside the hotel in 1981.

(c) Sky News 2026: Cole Allen: What we know about suspected gunman at Trump dinner