Law enforcement officials have named the person arrested after gunshots were reported at the Washington Hilton during the White House Correspondents' Dinner as Cole Tomas Allen, a man from the Los Angeles area. According to a law enforcement source, Allen is approximately 31 years old and lives in Torrance, California, the coastal South Bay community bordering Santa Monica Bay.
Authorities have said investigators believe the suspect was a guest at the Washington Hilton hotel, where the annual dinner was taking place. The chief of the District of Columbia police department has said that, while Allen was detained, investigators have not determined a motive for the shooting.
The Secret Service reported that the suspect was armed with a shotgun and was taken into custody after opening fire at a Secret Service agent in the Washington Hilton Hotel, outside the ballroom where the event was being held. The dinner was attended by President Donald Trump, his wife Melania, Vice President JD Vance and several cabinet secretaries, according to law enforcement statements.
Profile and online footprint
Public postings on social media and a professional networking profile in the suspect's name provide additional background. Facebook posts linked to the name show that he was named "Teacher of the Month" in December 2024 by the Torrance office of C2 Education, a national private test-preparation and tutoring service serving college-bound students.
A LinkedIn profile in the suspect's name characterizes him as "a mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth." The profile lists a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 and a master's degree in computer science from California State University at Dominguez Hills in 2025. Caltech confirmed in a statement that a person of that name graduated in 2017.
Work history on the profile shows he has been employed in recent years as a part-time teacher for C2 Education and as a self-employed game developer. It lists a previous role as a mechanical engineer with a company called IJK Controls in South Pasadena for one year and earlier experience as a teaching assistant at Caltech.
The profile also includes a link to a local newspaper article highlighting a robotics competition that Allen says his team won while at Caltech in 2016. Under a section labeled "Causes," the profile lists only "Science and Technology."
What investigators have said
- Investigators believe the suspect was a guest at the Washington Hilton, though they have not established a motive.
- The Secret Service said the suspect fired at an agent with a shotgun and was taken into custody outside the ballroom where senior officials were present.
- Law enforcement identified the suspect as a Torrance resident and described publicly available online records that portray him as a Caltech graduate with subsequent technical and teaching roles.
Investment note contained in source text
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