Allen is accused of opening fire as the president gathered with senior cabinet members and thousands of journalists.

Who is Cole Allen and what charges does he face over White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting

Suspected White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter Cole Tomas Allen is facing at least three charges, authorities said.

Allen, 31, is accused of opening fire as the President gathered with senior cabinet members and thousands of journalists for the annual event on Saturday night.

The dinner at the Washington Hilton was barely underway when the Secret Service was forced to leap into action after a series of shots rang out.

They managed to apprehend the suspect after he breached a security checkpoint and exchanged gunfire with law enforcement, authorities said.

The alleged shooter has since been identified as Allen, a teacher from Torrance, California.

Federal prosecutors have moved quickly and already announced he is being charged with two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

He is expected to be arraigned in federal court on Monday.

If convicted, Allen could face 20 years in jail for the assault, while the weapons charges come with a minimum of ten years with a possibility of life behind bars if fired.

‘It is clear, based upon what we know so far, this individual was intent on doing as much harm and as much damage as he could,’ United States Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said, adding that ‘there will be many more charges based upon the information that we are learning in this very fluid situation.’

Cops swarmed on Allen’s parents’ $877,000 home on Saturday night shortly after he was arrested.

Despite the scale of the attack, officials say Allen had no prior criminal record and was not previously known to law enforcement in Washington, DC.

He is one of four siblings, including two sisters, Stephanie and Arviana, and a brother, Gabriel, according to publicly available information.

Photographs circulating online show him smiling alongside family members at graduations and gatherings.

His social media details he is highly educated and academically accomplished.

On LinkedIn, he describes himself as: ‘A mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth.’

Allen earned a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology and later a Master of Science in Computer Science from a California State University.

During his time at Caltech, Allen listed his involvement in the Caltech Christian Fellowship and the Caltech Nerf Club.

More recently, Allen had been working in education. In December 2024, he was named Teacher of the Month at C2 Education, a recognition typically reserved for standout instructors.

Authorities say Allen, armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives, charged toward the ballroom before being stopped.

Interim Chief of Police of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Jeffrey Carroll said the suspect was ‘tackled to the ground’ and handcuffed by law enforcement after exchanging gunfire with officers.

One officer was struck in his bulletproof vest and is expected to recover.

Carroll confirmed Allen was not hit by gunfire during the confrontation but he was taken to the hospital for an evaluation.

Investigators believe Allen was staying at the hotel where the dinner was being held.

‘So preliminary information, we do believe he was a guest here at the hotel. We have secured a room here in the hotel, and again, we’ll go through the appropriate procedures to determine what was inside there,’ Carroll said.

Inside the ballroom, hundreds of guests dove under tables as shots rang out nearby.