On Saturday, April 25, 31-year-old tutor and video game developer Cole Thomas Allen tried to sneak into the White House Correspondents’ Association gala dinner in Washington. A man opened fire at the entrance to the banquet hall, but was neutralized by Secret Service officers and police. He is suspected of attempting to assassinate US President Donald Trump and members of his administration. The president has already said that the shooter acted alone and that the attack was not related to the US operation in Iran. The man will appear in court on Monday on several charges.
American journalists will remember the evening of April 25 for a long time. The White House Correspondents’ Association gala dinner, attended by Donald Trump for the first time during his presidency, was interrupted by gunfire. Those present in the hall heard the sound of gunshots coming from the security area, and then saw the President and First Lady Melania Trump being taken away from the hall by Secret Service representatives. More than 2.5 thousand guests attended the dinner. Many hid under tables, some began filming what was happening on their phones. However, it was impossible to transmit the footage in real time due to communication problems.
The situation returned to normal after half an hour. By this time, it became clear that the shooter had been intercepted on the way to the hall: the venue of the event was located on the ground floor of the notorious Washington Hilton Hotel, at the entrance to which an assassination attempt took place on President Ronald Reagan in 1981.
Secret Service officers intercepted the attacker at the metal detector in the final inspection area – it is located directly in front of the stairs leading to the hall. In video released by Trump from the hotel’s security cameras, a man is seen trying to force his way inside but is almost immediately knocked to the floor. During the arrest, Secret Service officers and police found a shotgun, a pistol and several knives in the man’s possession.
An hour after the failed attack, Trump posted a message on his Truth Social social media account thanking law enforcement for their “fantastic job” and saying that “the show must go on,” but that the final decision rested with security agencies. Then, in a series of posts, the American leader said that he, the first lady and members of the cabinet who were present at the event were all right and that he was fighting not to leave the hotel and continue the evening. Finally, he called the shooter a “sick man” and a “lone wolf psycho.”
The evening eventually continued, but not in the hotel, but in the White House, where an emergency press conference was convened.
Trump came out to those present in the same tuxedo that he was wearing at the time of the attack, and gave a speech in which he declared the unity of the guests of the evening, despite differences in political views, and called the shooter’s actions an attack on the Constitution. He again thanked security services and said one Secret Service officer was wounded. The President visited him in the hospital before going out to the media. Trump admitted that he initially mistook the shots for the sounds of breaking dishes, but his wife immediately realized what was happening, and the incident became psychologically traumatizing for her.
Trump promised to host the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner again in a month and assured those present that he would give a boring speech so everyone could enjoy the evening in peace. The president also said that the shooting would not have happened if the dinner had been held in the new ballroom being built at the White House. Finally, he pointed out that the job of the president was dangerous and compared it to the job of a race car driver or a bullfighter. The motives of the attacker, according to Trump, are not related to the US operation in Iran.
The identity of the attacker became known that same evening: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said he was 31-year-old tutor Cole Thomas Allen, who worked for C2 Education in California. The man is also known for developing computer shooter games. He arrived in Washington by train via Chicago and booked a room at the Washington Hilton. All weapons were purchased legally; the man had not previously been prosecuted for any offenses.
Later on NBC, Blanche said that the shooter’s motives were not yet entirely clear, but that his likely targets were “senior administration officials and possibly the president himself.”
This version, according to SBC, is confirmed by records found in the shooter’s hotel room. Preliminarily, the suspect acted alone, but the details of the attack are still being clarified: the man refuses to cooperate with the investigation. He will appear in court Monday on two charges: armed assault on an officer and use of a firearm in the commission of a violent crime.
Despite the fact that the assassination attempt on Trump has not yet been definitively confirmed, the incident was viewed as such in the American media and abroad. According to Reuters, the American leader has already spoken by phone with his British counterpart Keir Starmer, and he expressed support for him in connection with the incident. Other European leaders also publicly expressed solidarity with Trump, including the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The leaders of Canada, Turkey, Israel and Pakistan, who act as a mediator between Washington and Tehran, also spoke out in support of the president.
The assassination attempt on Trump was the third in the last two years: before that, in June 2024, at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks tried to kill Trump – a bullet grazed his right ear. One of the rally participants died, two were seriously injured. The shooter was killed on the spot. It is also known about an assassination attempt on Trump at a golf club in Florida in September 2024. Then Secret Service agents managed to detain the criminal before he could shoot.
