Cole Tomas Allen, 31, has been identified as the suspect who was armed with guns and knives when he stormed the Washington Hilton on Saturday night.
Stunning footage shared by Donald Trump has shown the moment a suspect was seen dashing through the hotel lobby at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner before he was taken down by secret service agents.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, has been identified as the suspect who was armed with guns and knives when he stormed the Washington Hilton on Saturday night.
Video posted by the US President on his Truth Social platform showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran towards him. Officials said that one officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but is recovering.
Police confirmed the gunman was tackled to the ground and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital. Allen, from Torrance, California, has been arrested and he is facing two firearm-related charges, including a count of assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon.
As reported by the Mirror, the suspect – who officials said was a guest at the Washington Hilton where the dinner was being held – has been taken into custody and is expected in court Monday.
Officers believe he opened fire and acted alone but did not say who was his intended target or describe a motive. Trump appeared to agree, describing him as a “lone wolf whack job” at a press conference afterwards.
The US President was uninjured and was rushed off the stage. 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 organisers 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.
“When you’re impactful, they go after you. When you’re not impactful, they leave you alone,” Trump, still in his tuxedo, said at the White House two hours later. “They seem to think he was a lone wolf.”
The shooting unfolded just outside the vast subterranean ballroom holding thousands of dinner guests, disrupting minutes after it began an annual event meant to honour journalism and the First Amendment that was being especially scrutinised this year because it was the first time since Trump became President that he had attended.
The President told reporters later that he hoped the event would be rescheduled within 30 days, though the fact that an armed man was able to rush toward the ballroom raised instant questions about security precautions at an event attended each year by senior government officials.
Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login