It’s still not confirmed what motivated the alleged shooter, who appears to have acted alone, and was armed with a shotgun, handgun, and multiple knives, and had apparently booked a room at the Washington Hilton. He was transported to a local hospital for evaluation after he was arrested.
ABC News’s Katherine Faulders reports on the ongoing investigation:
The WHCD shooting suspect is believed to have booked a room in the Hilton in early April, law enforcement officials tell me. He is declining to answer questions but allegedly made some reference to targeting administration officials but was not specific, the officials said.
Searches connected to the suspect are currently ongoing in Southern California and DC, law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation tell me. Investigators have retrieved his phone and other devices and are planning to access them as soon as they get search warrants. Preliminary information is that the suspect traveled from LA to Chicago and then on to DC. They are in the process of piecing together all of his movements and contacts over recent days, prior to checking in to the Hilton Saturday.
CBS News is also reporting that Allen admitted after his arrest that he wanted to shoot administration officials.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said at Saturday night’s law enforcement press conference that the suspect will be charged with at least two counts, using a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, and he will be arraigned on Monday.
CNN reports that according to public records, Allen “worked as a teacher and video game developer from Southern California”:
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, who lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance, has been identified by law enforcement as the armed man subdued near the dinner where President Trump and other officials had gathered, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
A LinkedIn profile matching his name and photo described him as a part-time teacher at C2 Education, a test prep and tutoring company. C2 named Allen the company’s “teacher of the month” in December 2024, according to social media posts from the company. No one answered a phone number for C2 late Saturday evening.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Allen graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, and received a master’s degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills last year.
As a student at Caltech, he was featured in a local news report in 2017 for developing a prototype emergency brake for wheelchairs.
Allen donated $25 to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in October 2024, according to Federal Election Commission records.
