WASHINGTON — The dinner organized by White House correspondents was held at a hotel in Washington, D.C. President Donald Trump, his wife and other senior officials had joined the event in a ballroom inside the hotel. The shooting incident at the gathering has raised questions about security and how a firearm was brought into the hotel.
Guests said a metal detector was placed outside the ballroom, but there was no screening at the hotel entrance or earlier. Authorities said the suspect tried to push through a checkpoint that stood just outside the ballroom. “Because that checkpoint was active, no one was injured,” US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said.
Trump initially expressed doubts about the hotel’s security but later said: “The gunman could not enter the ballroom. It was extremely secure.”
Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department acting chief Jeff Carroll gave an initial account of how the gunman entered the hotel with a firearm. At a Saturday night news conference, he said CCTV footage would be reviewed to understand how the gunman entered the hotel and reached the area near the ballroom.
The suspect was a guest at the Hilton hotel where the incident took place. Carroll did not provide details on when the suspect checked in or what was found during a search of his room. He said a shotgun, a handgun and several knives were recovered from the suspected gunman at a security checkpoint just outside the ballroom designated for the dinner.
What happened in the ballroom?
AFP journalists and other witnesses said gunshots were heard just after welcoming remarks at the annual journalists’ dinner. Armed security teams immediately took positions on the stage. Trump, his wife Melania, Vice President JD Vance and other Cabinet members were seated on the stage. Security personnel quickly moved them out.
Several hundred guests in the ballroom took cover under tables. After the event was declared canceled, they moved to the hotel lobby and then outside. Authorities said no government officials or guests were injured.
How the shooting unfolded
Authorities said at 8:36 p.m. local time, a gunman approached a security checkpoint in the hotel lobby just outside the ballroom. He tried to force his way through the checkpoint. Trump posted a video on Truth Social showing the suspect attacking the checkpoint as police closed in on him.
Law enforcement officers fired at the suspect and took him into custody. He was not hit by the gunfire. He was taken to a hospital for observation and is scheduled to appear in court on Monday local time. Officials said the man, a guest at the hotel, was the only suspect.
US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said two charges have been filed against the suspect: use of a firearm in a violent crime and assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
Who is the suspect?
Trump posted a photo of the suspect on Truth Social showing a shirtless man face down on the hotel lobby carpet with his hands bound behind his back. Authorities have not officially confirmed his identity. Multiple US media outlets identified the man arrested as Cole Thomas Allen, 31, a resident of Torrance, California.
An AFP photographer said FBI agents were seen outside a house in Torrance on Saturday night local time. A LinkedIn profile under the name “Cole Allen” shows a man whose appearance resembles the person in Trump’s post. The LinkedIn account holder is identified as a mechanical engineer, computer scientist, game developer and teacher. The California Institute of Technology told The New York Times that a Cole Allen earned an undergraduate degree there in 2017.
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