Suspect in White House Dinner Shooting Identified as California Teacher

26/04/2026

WASHINGTON, Apr 26: A man armed with guns and knives stormed the lobby outside a high-profile journalists’ dinner attended by President Donald Trump and multiple senior U.S. leaders on Saturday night, rushing toward the ballroom before Secret Service agents swarmed him and took him into custody. The president was uninjured and was hustled away. The man who opened fire outside the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, where US President Donald Trump was attending, was identified as a California educator, CBS News reported on Saturday, citing law enforcement sources. Cole Allen had worked as a teacher with C2 Education in Torrance, a tutoring service and was named “Teacher of the Month” in December 2024, according to the report.

Guests went diving under tables as the scene unfolded and some reported hearing shots outside the vast subterranean ballroom in the Washington Hilton where the event was being held.

One law enforcement official said a gunman had opened fire. A law enforcement officer was shot in the bullet-resistant vest but is expected to be OK, several sources told The Associated Press.

Secret Service agents, including the heavily-armed counter assault team, swarmed the stage after the incident. Vice President JD Vance was removed from the room first, while agents initially covered Trump in place, before escorting him and first lady Melania Trump from the room. Trump briefly stumbled on his way offstage before being assisted by his security detail.

He was held for some time in the secure presidential suite at the hotel as the president and organizers initially sought to resume the event — hotel staff refolded napkins and refilled water glasses, and aides adjusted the teleprompter for the president — before Trump was returned to the White House on the advice of the Secret Service.