White House Correspondent’s Dinner Shooting Incident at Washington Hilton (Saturday, April 25, 2026)

Описание: On Thursday, April 30, 2026, U.S. Attorney of Washington, District of Columbia released video, which was already provided to U.S. District Court, showing Cole Allen shot a U.S. Secret Service officer during his attempt to assassinate the President at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, April 25, 2024.

There is no evidence the shooting of one U.S. Secret Service Officer during the incident was the result of friendly fire. It was reported the officer’s bullet proof vest most likely saved his life.

Additional video also shows Allen casing the area in the Hilton Hotel the day before the attack.

According to court documents, on April 6, 2026, Allen made a reservation at the Washington Hilton hotel for three nights, from April 24 to April 26, 2026. Allen traveled by train from his home near Los Angeles to Chicago before boarding a train from Chicago to Washington, D.C. Allen arrived in the District at approximately 1 p.m. on April 24, 2026, and checked into the Washington Hilton later that day.

At approximately 8:40 p.m., Allen approached a security checkpoint on the Terrace Level of the hotel leading to the hotel’s ballroom. A K-9 appeared to have alerted on Allen’s long trench coat before he ran through the magnetometer holding a long gun. U.S. Secret Service personnel assigned to the checkpoint heard a loud gunshot. A U.S. Secret Service officer, who was wearing a ballistic vest, was shot once in the chest.

The Secret Service officer drew his service weapon and fired multiple times at Allen, who fell to the ground and suffered minor injuries but was not shot. Officers subsequently arrested Allen, who was in possession of a 12-gauge pump action shotgun and a Rock Island Armory 1911 .38 caliber pistol.

Following his arrest, Allen was advised of his Miranda rights and invoked his right to remain silent. Allen was transported to Howard University Hospital for minor injuries and has since been released to law enforcement custody.

Shortly before 8:40 p.m. on April 25, 2026, Allen sent an email to members of his family and a former employer explaining the actions he was about to take. The email, a copy of which law enforcement has obtained from a recipient, stated: “I wish I could have said anything earlier, but doing so would have made none of this possible. My sincerest apologies for all the trouble I've caused. (scheduled send)-Cole.” Allen signed his email “Cole ‘coldForce’ ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’ Allen.”

As part of this investigation, law enforcement reviewed records of firearm transactions from California and federal database sources. These records showed that on Aug.17, 2025, Allen purchased a 12-gauge pump action shotgun from a California firearms dealer. On Oct. 6, 2023, Allen purchased a .38 caliber semi-automatic pistol from another firearms dealer. Based on the serial numbers in the database records, these two firearms are the same two firearms that Allen at the Washington Hilton on April 25, 2026.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the U.S. Secret Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jocelyn Ballentine, Charles Jones, Adam Barry.

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/suspect-whi...