Law enforcement agencies have identified Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, southern California, a suburb of Los Angeles, as the suspected gunman arrested at the White House correspondents’ dinner in Washington DC on Saturday night.
Allen, 31, has no record of criminal charges or a civil court history in Los Angeles county, according to a records search.
Video posted to the Truth Social platform by Donald Trump on Saturday evening showed surveillance footage of a man sprinting through a Secret Service checkpoint near the main magnetometer metal detector screening area just outside the main ballroom of the Washington Hilton, the venue for the event. Agents can be seen drawing weapons and opening fire as he runs past. Trump also posted a picture of a shirtless man then lying on the floor as if apprehended.
Jeffery Carroll, the interim police chief for the city’s metropolitan police department, told reporters at a press conference that the suspect was tackled to the ground by law enforcement officers. Carroll added that the suspect was not hit by gunfire but did exchange shots with an officer who was struck while wearing a bulletproof vest. The officer had been released from hospital on Sunday morning.
Muriel Bowser, the mayor of Washington, DC, said at a press conference the suspect was in custody and there was no reason to believe that anyone else was involved in the incident.
Carroll said investigators believed the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and knives. He also said the suspect was believed to have been a guest at the hotel.
Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, the area’s chief prosecutor, said the defendant was being charged with two counts, would be arraigned on Monday and probably face further charges.
“It is clear, based upon what we know so far, this individual was intent on doing as much harm and as much damage as he could,” Pirro said.
Trump said authorities were searching the suspect’s home in California. No clear motive for the apparent attack has yet emerged.
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