President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were safely evacuated from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday night after a gunman charged a security checkpoint outside the Washington Hilton ballroom, firing multiple shots and wounding a Secret Service agent whose bulletproof vest stopped the bullet.
The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, rushed the magnetometer screening area at approximately 8:36 p.m. ET carrying a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives, according to D.C. Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll. Between five and eight shots were fired before Allen was struck by return fire and hospitalized. He had been a registered hotel guest; authorities secured his room as part of the investigation. Background records showed Allen held a California Institute of Technology degree and received a Teacher of the Month award from a local tutoring center in December 2024.
Vice President J.D. Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and other cabinet members were rushed to safety as agents directed hundreds of guests to take cover. The dinner was canceled; Trump pledged a reschedule within 30 days. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced two charges — using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer — with arraignment set for Monday. Officials said Allen told investigators he intended to target administration officials. Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said Allen underestimated the agency’s layered security and was stopped at first contact.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Judiciary Committee member who regularly attends the dinner, said he was grateful the president, first lady, and all attendees were safe, calling the current climate one producing an unprecedented level of threats against the president and government officials. Rep. William Timmons, whose SC-4 district covers Spartanburg County, sits on the House Oversight and Financial Services committees — panels that fund and oversee federal security programs now squarely in the spotlight. The incident occurred at the same Connecticut Avenue hotel where President Ronald Reagan was shot outside in March 1981.
