Security officials have identified the suspect who opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday as Cole Thomas Allen of California.According to U.S. federal agencies, the 31-year-old gunman will be charged with “using a firearm in the commission of a violent crime” and “assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.”“The suspect passed the outermost security check because he was a hotel guest at the event where President Donald Trump was scheduled to speak.Teacher of the MonthSocial media posts matching Allen’s description show him as a mentor and amateur video game developer.A May 2025 profile photo of Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, Calif., appeared to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker in custody that President Donald Trump posted late Saturday, The Associated Press reported.The photo posted on the social networking site LinkedIn shows him wearing a cap and gown after graduating from California State University, Dominguez Hills with a master’s degree in computer science.His LinkedIn profile shows he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Caltech in Pasadena in 2017 and lists his involvement in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that combats Nerf guns.Local ABC TV station in Los Angeles interviewed Allen during his senior year in college as part of a story about new technologies helping people age. He also developed a prototype of a new wheelchair emergency brake.Additionally, Allen donated $25 to a Democratic political action committee supporting Kamala Harris’ 2024 presidential bid, according to federal campaign finance records.Allen’s online resume shows that he has worked for the past six years at C2 Education, a company that provides admissions consulting and test preparation services to aspiring college students. A 2024 post on the company’s Facebook page named Allen the company’s Teacher of the Month. The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday evening.Allen also posted that he developed a video game for the Steam platform based on molecular chemistry. A post under Allen’s name said he was working on a new “top-down shooter” combat game set in outer space.‘patient’Trump shared a video of the shooter on the social media platform, showing him lying on the ground with his hands tied behind his back.Speaking at a news conference after the shooting, Trump said the suspect was armed with multiple weapons before being stopped by the Secret Service.“A man stormed a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons and was knocked down by some very brave Secret Service members… One officer was shot, but saved…the vest did the trick. I just talked to that official and he did a great job,” Trump said.The president also said charges would be filed soon.“I expect you’ll see charges soon. Those charges should be self-explanatory given his actions, but as you heard, there will be multiple charges surrounding the shooting, including possession of a firearm and anything else we can get out of this guy,” he said.Trump called the suspect a “patient,” said he had been captured and warned that similar operations might be attempted again.“The man has been captured. They’re going to his apartment. I guess he lives in California and he’s a patient… I say, very importantly, we’re going to do this again in the next 30 days and we’re going to make it bigger, better, even better,” the US president said.
