What we know about the Trump press gala shooting
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FBI agents are seen at the Washington Hilton after shots were fired during the White House Correspondents dinner at the hotel in Washington, DC, on April 25.
PHOTO: AFP
WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump and other attendees were evacuated on the night of April 25 after gunshots were fired at a glitzy media gala in Washington.
As details continue to emerge and investigations are under way, here is what we know about the shooting:
What happened in the ballroom?
Shots were heard after the welcoming speech at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association being held at the Washington Hilton Hotel, according to AFP reporters and other witnesses.
Tactical security teams with guns drawn took position on the stage where Mr Trump was seated alongside his wife Melania, Vice-President J.D. Vance and other officials, who were swiftly evacuated.
Hundreds of guests in black tie in the ballroom took cover under tables and later made their way to the hotel lobby and then outdoors as the event was postponed.
The authorities said no dignitaries or gala guests were hurt.
How did the shooting unfold?
A “sole gunman” rushed through a security checkpoint in the hotel lobby just outside the ballroom where the dinner was taking place around 8.36pm (8.36am on April 26, Singapore time), according to the authorities.
Mr Trump shared footage on his Truth Social platform which appeared to show the suspect charging at the checkpoint before being swarmed by officers.
“He was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives,” Metropolitan Police Department interim chief Jeffery Carroll told reporters.
Law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the suspect and “intercepted that individual”.
A uniformed Secret Service officer was “struck in his vest” and taken to hospital but was doing well, Chief Carroll said.
The suspect was not hit by gunfire but was taken to a hospital to be evaluated.
He was in custody and due to be arraigned on April 27 in a federal court.
The detained man, who officials believed was staying as a guest at the hotel, is thought to be the only suspect in the case.
He is facing charges on two counts: using a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said.
Who is the suspect?
Mr Trump shared photos of the suspected shooter, shirtless and in handcuffs face down on a carpeted floor, in what appears to be the Hilton lobby.
The authorities are yet to publicly confirm his identity, but US media reported that the suspect is a 31-year-old named Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, California.
US President Donald Trump posted a photo, showing the alleged shooter, on his Truth Social account.
PHOTO: DONALD J. TRUMP/TRUTH SOCIAL
FBI agents were seen outside a two-storey residence in Torrance late on April 25, according to an AFP photographer.
“My impression is he was a lone wolf,” Mr Trump said, adding that the suspect’s motivation was not yet clear but he believed the gunman was “sick”.
A LinkedIn profile with the name “Cole Allen” showed a picture of a man which appeared to match a photo of the suspect shared by Mr Trump.
The social media profile said Allen was a mechanical engineer, computer scientist, game developer and teacher.
A person named Cole Allen graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 with an undergraduate degree, the university told the New York Times.
C2 Education, a test-prep company, named Allen as “teacher of the month” in an Instagram post dated December 2024.
Were there security failures?
Questions swirled regarding the security at the reception and how a gun was taken into the hotel.
Attendees pointed out a magnetometer was placed outside the ballroom, but there was no such screening before that or at the entrance to the hotel itself.
Mr Trump initially said it was “not a particularly secure building” but later said the ballroom where the event was being held was not breached by the gunman and was “very, very secure”.
FBI agents arrive at the residence associated with Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect in the shooting incident at the annual White House Correspondents' Association dinner in Washington, DC, on April 25.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The checkpoint that the suspect tried to charge past was “right outside the ballroom”, the authorities said.
“Because that checkpoint worked, there was no one who was injured,” Ms Pirro said.
“We’ll go through video across the hotel to figure out how the gun got in, how it got down here,” Chief Carroll added.
According to Mr Trump, the security services did a “much better job than Butler”, where he was the target of an assassination attempt in 2024 during a campaign rally in the state of Pennsylvania. AFP
