Who is Cole Tomas Allen

The man suspected of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner worked as a teacher and video game developer from Southern California, according to public records.

Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from Torrance, on the outskirts of Los Angeles, California, was named “Teacher of the Month” for December 2024, according to his employer.

Interim Washington, D.C., Police Chief Jeffery W. Carroll said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. 

One officer was shot, but he was protected by a bulletproof vest.

Footage shows a gunman storming security

CCTV footage posted by Trump to Truth Social shows the moment the alleged gunman rushed security into the Hilton hotel.

More than a half-dozen police and Secret Service officers manned a security station near the banquet hall.

The alleged gunman sprinted past, armed with a long arm, before security immediately began opening fire in his direction.

“It moved, it really moved, and the reaction time was amazing,” Trump told reporters.

He also posted an image without a caption of a man being held down on a carpeted floor.

“They seem to think he was a lone wolf, and I think so too,” he told reporters.

“He was a guy who looked pretty bad when he was down. He bit hard.”

Another photo taken at the scene shows a man covered in a foil blanket on the ground with his hands in handcuffs, under the supervision of law enforcement officers.

The suspect worked as a part-time teacher

A LinkedIn profile matching his name and photo describes 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 company social media posts. When CNMN tried to reach out, no one answered a phone number for C2.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Allen graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.

Last year, he earned a master’s degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills

Allen also described himself as a video game developer on his LinkedIn profile and appears to have published an indie game called Bohrdom that is available for purchase on the Steam gaming platform for $1.99.

He registered a trademark for the game’s name in 2018, according to federal trademark records.

The suspect thought he had worked alone

Carroll said investigators had no reason to believe anyone else was involved at this time.

Carroll said he could not say at this time what the shooter’s motivation was, and that it is too early to know who the suspect intended to target in the shooting.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the suspect is tentatively charged with two counts related to the use of a firearm and assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon, but that many more charges will be filed “based on the information we learn in this very fluid situation.”

Pirro said the suspect would be arraigned in federal court on Monday.

Media have been spotted at a home linked to him in the Californian city.

Trump called the shooter a “whack job” and a “sick person.”