Who is the suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting?
Torrance neighbors are reacting after learning that 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen, the suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, lived and worked in their area.
FBI Director Kash Patel said he and acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche will soon address the nation regarding Saturday night’s shooting outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
In an interview on “Fox & Friends” Monday morning, Patel said he and Blanche would address the nation with “actual details about this event.”
“We will be able to present to the world, within almost 36 hours, what happened, the whole background of this person, who he knew, where he lived, who he was talking to, everything about firearms,” Patel said in an interview, adding that a press conference would be held Monday after the criminal complaint is signed by a magistrate judge.
The suspect is scheduled to appear in federal court on Monday for arraignment.
Who are the suspects?
The man suspected of opening fire at the April 25 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner appeared on Los Angeles TV news in 2017 demonstrating a prototype wheelchair.
Cole Thomas Allen, whose identity was revealed to USA TODAY by a federal law enforcement official familiar with the investigation on April 26, appeared on a KABC-TV segment about an invention conference aimed at improving the lives of seniors.
Mr. Allen demonstrated a wheelchair emergency brake prototype he developed during the segment. USA TODAY has reached out to KABC-TV for comment.
Authorities say Allen stormed into the security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton with multiple weapons before gunshots rang out. One Secret Service officer was injured. President Donald Trump attended the dinner for the first time as president. The event was also attended by several distinguished guests, including Cabinet members and Vice President J.D. Vance.
Allen’s LinkedIn account shows a post that says he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from California Institute of Technology in 2017. Caltech spokeswoman Kathy Svitil previously acknowledged the records of an undergraduate named Cole Allen, who graduated in 2017, but declined to release further information.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on April 26 that the 31-year-old suspect will be charged with multiple charges related to the April 27 shooting.
Contributed by: James Powel, Josh Meyer, Sarah D. Wire, Nick Penzenstadler, USA TODAY
Gabe Hauari is USA TODAY’s national trends news reporter. You can follow him at X @gabehauari Or email Gdhauari@gannett.com.
