Gunman Cole Allen opens fire at White House Correspondents Dinner Trump evacuated agent shot

On April 25, 2026, Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, breaches security screening at the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., rushes past a magnetometer, and opens fire with what witnesses describe as "a very serious weapon," firing at least six times. President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Cabinet members are evacuated by the Secret Service. One Secret Service agent is struck in the bullet-resistant vest but expected to recover. No other injuries are reported. Allen is tackled and taken into custody at the scene. The White House states the suspect "wanted to target Trump officials." Allen graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 with a degree in mechanical engineering and was working as a teacher in Torrance. The attack occurs on the same day the investigation into Allen's background begins; the FBI secures his California home. The attack is the fourth significant political violence incident targeting Trump or his circle since July 2024 and occurs amid a national environment of escalating political threats documented by the U.S. Marshals Service.