Trump evacuated from gala shooting
WASHINGTON—US Secret Service agents bundled Donald Trump from the stage as shots rang out on Saturday evening at a media gala, in what the president later described as an attack by a “would-be assassin.”
Armed guards opened fire at the gunman who charged through a security checkpoint just outside the ballroom of the hotel where Trump, first lady Melania Trump, senior government officials and hundreds of other black-tie guests had gathered.
People dived under tables in chaotic scenes as Secret Service teams swarmed into the glitzy White House Correspondents’ Association dinner held annually at the Washington Hilton in the US capital. The site was also where Republican President Ronald Reagan was also shot by a would-be assassin in 1981.
“A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of the Secret Service,” Trump told a press conference at the White House shortly after the incident.
“They seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I feel that too,” he said, after posting a video of the gunman sprinting past security as guards drew their weapons. The man was detained at the scene.
Teacher of the month
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Cole Tomas Allen of Torrence, California, appears to match the photo of the alleged attacker that Trump posted on Saturday night.
The 2025 photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills.
Allen, 31, earned a bachelor’s degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
A local ABC station in Los Angeles included an interview with Allen during his college senior year as part of a story about new technologies to help people as they age. He had developed a prototype for a new type of emergency brake for wheelchairs.
According to his online resume, Allen had worked for the last six years at C2 Education, a company that offers admissions counseling and test preparation services to aspiring college students.
A 2024 post on the company’s Facebook page listed Allen as the company’s teacher of the month. The company did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Saturday night.
Agent shot in vest
Allen also posted that he had developed a video game for the Steam platform based on molecular chemistry. A post under his name said he was working to develop a new “top-down shooter” combat game set in outer space.
Trump said one officer was shot at close range but appeared to not be critically injured. He added that the venue was “not a particularly secure” facility as questions swirled about the president’s safety.
Trump said at the hastily arranged news conference that he first thought the noise was a tray being dropped before he realized it was gunfire. He said he planned to reschedule the media gala within a month despite the security scare.
City officials said the suspect, who will be arraigned in court on Monday on firearm and assault charges, appeared to have been a guest at the hotel. He was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives.
“Law enforcement exchanged gunfire with the individual,” Washington police chief Jeffery Carroll told reporters. “A US Secret Service uniformed division officer was struck in his vest. He was transported to a local hospital for treatment. He appears to be in good spirits.”
As the incident erupted, tactical teams with guns drawn took position on the stage where Trump had been sitting during dinner before he was evacuated.
Police surrounded the hotel and helicopters hovered overhead.
The security breach occurred after the welcoming speech and during dinner, before Trump was due to speak.
Cabinet members were evacuated first as confusion and concern spread through the partying guests.
One administration official, Mehmet Oz, told journalists “shots fired upstairs” as he was rushed out by security.
During the election campaign of 2024, Trump was the target of an assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A gunman fired several shots, killing an audience member before he was killed by Secret Service counter-snipers. Trump was seen lightly wounded in the ear during that incident.
A few months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent saw the barrel of a rifle poking from the bushes on the perimeter of the West Palm Beach golf course where Trump was playing a round.
No comedian booked
Organizers at first told guests that Saturday’s dinner would continue, before announcing it had been postponed.
The White House Correspondents’ Association invited Trump this year despite his repeated attacks on the media.
Unlike all other presidents from the past 100 years, Trump had never attended while in office.
The “Nerd Prom”—as attendees dub it—brings together journalists and the who’s who of Washington to raise funds for scholarships and awards.
The event often has a comedian joking about the president, who traditionally makes a few cracks of his own, though no comedian was booked this year.
