The gunman who charged a security checkpoint and opened fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman was targeting Trump officials Saturday night, according to a report.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, told police he was going after “administration officials” at the press gala inside the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington, DC, CBS News reported, citing sources.
He specify if he was targeting anyone in particular, or if he was trying to kill President Trump specifically, CBS News reported, citing sources.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said the shooter was trying to carry out a “national tragedy” while all eyes were on the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“[Allen] underestimated the protective capabilities of the U.S. Secret Service, and was stopped at first contact. The strength of our layered security posture was evident, with a myriad of countermeasures ahead,” he wrote in a statement.
Allen, a CalTech-educated teacher from Torrance, Calif., was identified by sources as the suspect accused of rushing a security checkpoint armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives before he was subdued.
The shooting erupted just after 8:30 p.m., about 20 minutes after Trump and first lady Melania Trump had just made their grand entrance onto the dais.
Officials have not revealed a possible motive behind the shooting.
Trump said he didn’t believe the gunman’s attack was related to the ongoing US-Israeli war in Iran.
“It’s not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. I really don’t think so, based on what we know,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday evening.
A Secret Service agent was shot in the vest during the gunfight.
The unidentified agent was rushed to a hospital and is in “great spirits,” Trump said during a press conference at the White House Saturday night.
Allen, an engineering grad, has been charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and with assault of a federal officer, Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, said Saturday.
The crazed gunman attempted to barge into the ballroom of approximately 2,500 people, which included the first couple, Vice President JD Vance, Trump cabinet members and journalists.
Secret Service agents whisked away the president and first lady as other guests took cover underneath their tables.
Allen appeared to gain entry into the hotel by paying for a room and smuggled a cache of weapons inside, officials said. A volunteer told The Post that they saw him assemble a long weapon “in [an] unsecured room” before making a mad dash towards the ballroom.
Authorities seized a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives when they nabbed Allen.
Sources told ABC 7 that Allen apparently trekked from his hometown to Chicago before heading to Washington, DC.
The shooter — blasted by Trump as a “sick” individual – was swiftly taken down in the lobby by the Secret Service.
He was hauled off from the hotel in the back of an ambulance.
Trump assured that the White House Correspondents’ Dinner will be rescheduled within the next 30 days.
