Consider This from NPR - What we know about the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Episode Date: April 26, 2026

Hours after a gunman attempted to breach the White House Correspondents' Dinner, details are slowly emerging about who he is, and how he was able to get into the Washington Hilton where the dinner was held.Two sources familiar with the matter say Cole Allen has been identified as the alleged gunman, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC's Meet the Press that Allen is believed to have been targeting administration officials.The incident shocked Washington — and led to the safe evacuation from the scene of the president, much of his Cabinet, and members of Congress.NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben and Ryan Lucas have more on the investigation into the shooting, while reporter Steve Futterman learned more about the suspect in his suburban-Los Angeles hometown.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at [e-mail] episode was produced by Henry Larson. It was edited by Ashley Brown, Alfredo Carbajal, and Krishnadev Calamur. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.NPR Privacy Policy

NPR's Franco Ordonez was in the room when it happened. The dinner had just started. I mean, they just presented the colors and the star-spangled banner had just been played. The scene? The 26 White House correspondence dinner. Media types, Trump administration officials and other guests were at the Washington Hilton that evening for an annual event that raises money for the press corps organization that covers the president. Trump was minutes away from speaking when shots were fired near the ballroom entrance. They waitstaff was really just starting to clear the salad plates when we heard this bang, bang, bang.

An armed man had rushed past security personnel outside of the ballroom. And then it was just a bit of a scream and then crashing of tables as all the guests were literally just hitting the floor, going over tables, going over chairs. Secret Service quickly escorted President Trump and other senior officials out of the ballroom, and Trump held a press briefing just after the shooting unfold. I didn't want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we're planning at the White House. It's actually a larger room, and it's much more secure. It's drone-proof, it's bulletproof glass. We need the ballroom.

Consider this. The first ever White House correspondent's dinner attended by Donald Trump as president is the first ever to be called off by a gunman breaching security. We'll take you through the latest on what we know about the shooting and the man accused in the attack. From NPR, I'm Ravschmidt. It's considered this for Mnepr. Less than 24 hours after a gunman attempted to breach the White House correspondent's dinner, details are slowly emerging about who he is. The alleged gunman has been identified as Cole Allen,

according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC's meet the press that Allen is believed to have been targeting administration officials. The incident shocked Washington and led to the prompt evacuation of the president, much of his cabinet and members of Congress from the event. They are all safe. But we'll get to the many details we've learned about the suspect in a moment. But first, let's discuss the latest in the shooting investigation with White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben and PR Justice correspondent Ryan Lucas.

Danielle, let's start with you. What has the White House been saying about this, about what happened last night? Well, they've had quite a bit to say, for one, Trump has had a lot of praise. for Secret Service and other law enforcement for stopping the shooter. This was also Trump's first appearance at the dinner as president. And he said at a press conference late last night that he had planned to be rough on the press in his speech. He sort of said it like it was a joke, but it's unclear how serious that might have been, really. He also pretty quickly called for the dinner to be postponed, posting on social media last night,

that the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days. Now, of course, that is not his call. This is a dinner put on by the White House Correspondents Association, which is an association of journalists independent of the White House. The president of that association, CBS's Ouija Jang, today in a statement said the association plans to meet to figure out what will happen with the dinner now. But besides all that, one thing that really stood out to me was that Trump pretty quickly made sense of this incident by saying that the gunman was coming for him and by theorizing that assassins come for what he called impactful people. But the people that do the most, the people that make the biggest impact, they're the ones that they go after. They don't go after the ones that don't do much because they like it that way. Now, to be clear, we don't yet know for sure what Allen's motivations were, what his aims were last night.

But after the 2024 attempt on Trump's life in Butler, Pennsylvania, as well as the attempt that year at his golf course in Florida, Trump seems to see this as why people would want to commit violence against him. So NPR's Ryan Lucas is with me here in the studio. Ryan, what do we know about the investigation? Well, acting attorney general, Todd Blanche, made the rounds on the Sunday morning talk shows today, provided an update on the investigation. He didn't identify the suspect, but we do know the individual is, as you have both said, Cole Allen. He is 31 years old. He's from Torrance, California. Now, Alan has not been cooperating with investigators, but Blanche says authorities have been executing search warrants at locations associated with Allen.

They've done the same on his electronic devices. And Blanche says, based on preliminary information, investigators believe the suspect traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago. And then from there, on to Washington, D.C., he had a room at the Hilton Hotel where the correspondence dinner takes place. He had two guns and knives on him when he tried to storm the ballroom. Now, Blanche also said this on NBC's Meet the Press. We believe that he was targeting administration officials in this attack, attempted attack. but that's again quite preliminary as law enforcement continues to go through all the evidence. That, of course, raises the all-important question of motive.

Blanche says officials are still investigating. They're trying to get an answer on that motive question. But again, this investigation is less than 24 hours old, and it often takes time to get those all-critical answers. And, Danielle, let's go to you. I mean, the White House is actually providing information about this investigation. What did it say? That's right. A White House official today told NPR that Allen's,

brother shortly before last night's shooting notified law enforcement about a piece of writing Alan had composed and sent to his family members. Now, we should say, NPR has not independently read or verified that writing. But the White House official also said that Alan's sister had told law enforcement that Allen at times, quote, referenced a plan to do something to fix the issues with today's world. And again, that's in the words of the White House official. But on top of all of that pretty quickly last night. The president shared pictures of the alleged gunman on social media, and he did this around two hours after the incident. And he also shared what appeared to be security footage from inside the hotel of the gunman sprinting past a security checkpoint. Yeah, and this has been

on social media. And Ryan, I want to go to you here. Is that unusual for these types of details to be coming from directly from the president? It is highly unusual for details from an ongoing criminal investigation to be coming out of the White House or the president. Traditionally, investigators and prosecutors will provide occasional updates, but once there's a suspect in custody, which was immediate in this instance, prosecutors will speak in court or in court filings, and that's pretty much it. Now, yes, after the assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania during the 2024 campaign, the FBI did provide updates on what they were finding out in the course of their investigation, but they were able to do that there in large part because the gunman

was dead. So there was no case. to build for prosecution. Got it. Danielle, what else struck you about Trump's remarks since this incident happened? Well, mainly that he pretty quickly started leveraging this incident to advance two of his priorities. Now, one is the White House ballroom that he's been building. Last night, towards the start of his press conference, Trump said that this incident just shows that the White House needs a ballroom for events like the dinner because it would have tight security.

Now, again, this is not the White House's dinner. Right. But Trump really has been pointed out. pushing the ballroom for the last 24 hours or so. And today on social media, he again argued that the ballroom is necessary for security. And he added that a lawsuit that has been aimed at halting construction should be dropped. The other goal he's been pushing is to get the Department of Homeland Security funded. That department is in the middle of a record-breaking partial shutdown. Now, that happened, by the way, because after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens earlier this

year, Democrats refused to fund the department unless major policy changes to implement. immigration enforcement were made. Secret Service is part of DHS. So Trump argued to Fox News this morning that this incident shows that their department deserves funding immediately. So Ryan, let's end with you. What's next in the investigation? Well, investigators will be trying to trace Allen's actions as footsteps in the weeks, the days, the hours leading up to what happened on Saturday night. Justice Department officials have said that Allen will face charges. Assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon and using firearm and a crime of violence are the initial ones. They will likely be more to come down the road. Alan is expected to be in court here in D.C. tomorrow morning,

so we may learn more then. That's NPR's Ryan Lucas and Danielle Kurtzleben. Thanks to you both. Thank you. Thank you. Again, the suspect in last night's shooting is said to live in Torrance, California. That's a suburb of Los Angeles. Reporter, Steve Futterman, is there and has been tracking down more details about Cole Allen. Hey, Steve. Hi, Rob. So what more can you tell us about Cole Allen? Well, we're really learning a lot about Allen today. He's 31. years old. He received a mechanical engineering degree from Caltech here in Southern California. Later, he got a master's degree in computer science from a state university here. He had recently been working for a company that provides tutoring and helps students prepare for college entry exams.

One of his tutoring students was this 17-year-old 11th grader Jason were only using his first name because he's a minor. Alan helped him prepare for his physics courses. I spoke with him last night. he said Allen's politics and ideology never came up. No, never. We would stay on topic the whole time. Never said anything about Trump or anything like that. So he kept it, I guess he kept most of his opinions to himself. Was he a good teacher?

Did he help you? Yeah, he was very helpful. Like I said, he was a little quirky, but overall he was, he was a nice guy. What way was he quirky? You just know how some people, you know, if they're really smart, kind of like that, but I mean, yeah, he was a great guy. And Jason says this has caught him completely. by surprise. Wow. So Quirky, a former student, telling him quirky. You know, what else can you

tell us about his life? Well, NPR has confirmed that Alan visited gun ranges in Southern California. He attended at least one no-kings march. In a LinkedIn page that appears to belong to him, he describes himself as a mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, and teacher by birth. And in fact, Alan was named Teacher of the Year in 2024, a teacher of the month, rather, according to his employer's LinkedIn page. The LinkedIn profile page also states that while he was at the universities of Caltech, he was in the Christian Fellows Program. NPR, by the way, did not find any criminal records when conducting a background check of Allen.

So, Steve, you've been there by the suspects home since last night. Tell us about the scene there. Well, the FBI agents arrived here last night. I'd say around two hours after the incident. The suspect lived with his parents on this very quiet residential street. The yellow crime scene tape was put around the home. And throughout the night, we saw FBI agents go in and out of the house. Now, things investigators would especially be looking for would include items like computers, cell phones, any digital storage devices.

And a couple more things we should point out, as you heard previously, the acting attorney general Todd Blanche said, Alan got to Washington by train first from L.A. to Chicago, then to D.C. He had that room at the Washington Hilton Hotel. And as for those guns were covered last night, a shotgun and handgun. Blanche says those were purchased probably in the last two years. Okay, so on Fox News today, President Trump spoke about the incident. Tell us about that. Well, a White House spokesman official told NPR that Alan sent his family members

what the White House is calling a manifesto minutes before the incident took place. at the Hilton Hotel. The document states that Alan wanted to target administration officials, that's according to the White House. The official who's not authorized to speak publicly told NPR that Alan's brother notified police of the document. NPR, by the way, has not seen any of the writings independently. Now, on Fox News, Trump briefly talked and criticized what Alan wrote.

And the guy is a sick guy when you read his manifesto. And NPR has also learned that the... The document contained many anti-Trump references. That's reporter Steve Futterman in Torrance, California. Steve, thank you so much for all that reporting. Thank you, Rob. This episode was produced by Henry Larson. It was edited by Ashley Brown, Alfredo Carboha, and Christian F. Kalamor.

Our executive producer is Sammy Yenigan. It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Rob Schmidt.