Suspect Identified in Armed Breach at White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner

The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, held to celebrate press freedom, descended into panic on Saturday evening after an armed man breached security at the Washington Hilton and exchanged fire with law enforcement before being taken into custody.

Investigators believe the suspect was able to reach close to the event due to gaps in the outer layers of security. Authorities said he was staying at the hotel, which allowed him to enter as a guest and get past the outermost checks.

Access had been restricted after the hotel was closed to the public from 2 pm ahead of the 8 pm dinner, limited to hotel guests, ticket holders, invited attendees and those with official documentation from the White House Correspondents’ Association. Officials also said there were no metal detectors at the hotel’s entrances, with a secure perimeter only established closer to the ballroom where the event was being held.

A volunteer described how the suspect used an unsecured area inside the hotel to prepare for the attack. Helen Mabus said, as quoted by the New York Post, he was in a “makeshift room” near a terrace-level entrance where bar carts were stored and “there was no security” at the time. “He was in that room […] he grabbed it out of a bag or something,” she said, adding that the weapon “was long” and “didn’t look like a typical gun.” She said he was partially out of view of security as he handled the weapon and then “put it together and […] ran towards the stairs to go down to the ballroom.”

Jeff Carroll of the Metropolitan Police Department said the suspect “charged a US Secret Service checkpoint” while carrying a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. He was tackled to the ground and handcuffed and appeared to have been a “lone” gunman. The suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, according to the Associated Press. The US attorney for the District of Columbia said he has been charged with felony firearm and assault charges.

Security for the annual event is typically tight when the president attends. Inside the ballroom, further measures were in place, with the Secret Service maintaining another perimeter around the president that included a buffer separating him and others seated at the head table from the rest of the attendees. Agents were stationed in front of the stage and in its wings, alongside heavily armed counter-assault teams ready to respond. Law enforcement officials said their “multi-layered protection” worked as designed, even as the incident highlighted how the suspect was able to move through less secure areas before reaching the inner checkpoint. Trump said the incident underscored why he wants to build a $400 million ballroom on White House grounds equipped with the latest security features, a project that is currently subject to litigation.