{"id":210029,"date":"2026-04-26T03:42:13","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T03:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/210029\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T03:42:13","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T03:42:13","slug":"trump-rushed-out-of-white-house-correspondents-dinner-after-shots-fired-gunman-idd-as-cole-tomas-allen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/210029\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump rushed out of White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner after shots fired, gunman ID’d as Cole Tomas Allen"},"content":{"rendered":"

President Trump, first lady Melania and a slew of top lawmakers and White House officials had to be dramatically evacuated from the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday<\/a> night after a crazed gunman rushed the security perimeter and opened fire outside the ballroom.<\/p>\n

The shooting erupted just after 8:30 p.m., about 20 minutes after the president and first lady made their grand entrance into the Washington Hilton ballroom.<\/p>\n

The shooter \u2013blasted by Trump as a \u201csick\u201d individual \u2014 charged toward the ballroom armed with a shotgun and multiple knives before being swiftly taken down by Secret Service agents in the lobby, police said, sharing shocking photos of the shirtless madman pinned face down on the floor.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement sources identified him as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, a teacher and Caltech grad from Torrance, California.<\/p>\n

Follow The Post\u2019s live updates on the shooting at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner<\/a><\/p>\n

U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, next to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, attend the annual White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 25, 2026. REUTERS<\/p>\n

\u201cThe man has been captured,\u201d Trump told reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re going to his apartment. I guess he lives in California, and he\u2019s a sick person.\u201d <\/p>\n

Officials said the deranged gunman rushed a security checkpoint and was headed toward the president\u2019s location before being stopped outside the ballroom, where Trump and countless VIPS were set to toast the Washington press corps.<\/p>\n

Police believe he was a guest at the hotel.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut at this point it does appear he is a lone actor, a lone gunman,\u201d Interim DC police chief Jeffrey Carroll confirmed Saturday night. \u201cThere does not appear to be any sort of danger to the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

The president is safe \u2014 but one Secret Service agent was shot in the chaos. Trump said the agent was hit \u201cfrom a very close distance with a very powerful gun,\u201d but survived thanks to his bulletproof vest is in \u201cgreat shape\u201d at a local hospital.<\/p>\n

Organizers of the star-studded \u201cnerd prom\u201d program originally said that they wanted continue as planned; but then announced that the event was canceled by 9:45 p.m.<\/p>\n

It will be rescheduled within 30 days, Trump said, noting he \u201cfought like hell\u201d to keep the event going as he was read to tear into the press.<\/p>\n

He also praised law enforcement and Secret Service for doing a \u201cfantastic job\u201d and acting \u201cvery quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was a tray going down, but it was a gun,\u201d Trump recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very quick,\u201d he added. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t a lot of time to be thinking, because it was a matter of seconds before we were out the door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harrowing footage from the annual glitzy gala, hosted by the White House Correspondents Association, showed at least five shots ringing out from the lobby, as more than 2,000 panicked guests \u2014 including journalists and Trump officials \u2014 scrambled under tables for cover.<\/p>\n

The shooting unfolded just minutes after WHCA President Weijia Jiang finished giving a speech, in which she hailed Trump\u2019s \u201cmeaningful\u201d return to the event \u2014 after he had snubbed it for the past 15 years. <\/p>\n

US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is rushed out by Secret Service agents after loud bangs were heard during the White House Correspondents\u2019 dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC, on April 25, 2026. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Trump, Melania, Vice President JD Vance, and Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt were among those at the dais who were rushed out of the ballroom by Secret Service agents before the rest of the president\u2019s cabinet were evacuated.<\/p>\n

CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer, who was attending the event when the gunfire rang out, said he heard about six shots in a tight corridor just outside the ballroom moments after dinner service had begun.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, I start hearing gunshots in the hall right near me,\u201d he told CNN. \u201cAnd the next thing I knew, a police officer threw me to the ground and was on top of me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blitzer said he had just stepped out and was heading up the stairs toward the lobby when the shooting broke out.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt looked to me that the gunman who was firing these rounds was inside the security dinner,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe somehow managed to get inside the metal detectors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of law enforcement respond during the White House Correspondents Dinner, Saturday, April 25, 2026, in Washington. AP<\/p>\n

Authorities quickly moved to secure the scene, physically restraining people in the vicinity and rushing them into nearby rooms for cover as the Secret Service locked down the hotel.<\/p>\n

A White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner volunteer said the suspected gunman appeared to assemble a \u201clong\u201d weapon in a lightly monitored area near the terrace-level entrance before opening fire and rushing toward the ballroom.<\/p>\n

The witness, Helen Mabus, a volunteer working the event who said she is from Harrisburg, Pa., described a \u201cmakeshift room\u201d near the entrance where bar carts were being stored and where \u201cthere was no security\u201d at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was in that room [\u2026] he grabbed it out of a bag or something,\u201d Mabus said, adding that the weapon \u201cwas long\u201d and \u201cdidn\u2019t look like a typical gun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Security officials evacuate U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as a shooter opens fire during the annual White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 25, 2026. REUTERS<\/p>\n

\u201cHe put it together and [\u2026] ran towards the stairs to go down to the ballroom. It just seem like he was shooting all over the place,\u201d she said, estimating she heard \u201cat least 10 shots.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malbus said the gunfire triggered immediate panic, with people \u201cscreaming and running\u201d while Secret Service and other armed personnel rushed toward the danger.<\/p>\n

Erika Kirk \u2014 the widow of slain conservative icon Charlie Kirk \u2014 was visibly shaken and in tears as she was abruptly rushed out of the ballroom, an eyewitness told The Post. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just want to go home. I just want to go home,\u201d she reportedly said.<\/p>\n

Agents draw their guns after loud bangs were heard during the White House Correspondents\u2019 dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC, on April 25, 2026. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

The eyewitness also reported seeing a disoriented and \u201cdelirious\u201d Robert F. Kennedy Jr. being carried out by members of his security details.<\/p>\n

Officials said the shooting took place near the main magnetometer screening area at the Washington Hilton, where guests pass through security before entering the event. <\/p>\n

Sources said there are no metal detectors until the ballroom, meaning guests can go straight up the escalator before hitting security screening.<\/p>\n

DC US Attorney Jeanine Pirro said the gunman \u2014 authorities have not identified \u2014 is charged with assault on a federal law enforcement officer and two counts of using a gun to commit violence. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe defendant will be arraigned on Monday in federal district court,\u201d Pirro said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake no mistake, there will be many more charges based upon the information that we are learning.\u201d <\/p>\n

Authorities are continuing to investigate the incident alongside the Metropolitan Police Department, with teams \u201con the ground assessing the situation,\u201d the Secret Service said.<\/p>\n

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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who sat with The Post at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Dinner, bemoaned the tragic history of the Washington Hilton, where the marquee dinner is held each year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was hoping the room hadn\u2019t been breached,\u201d Bessent told The Post. \u201cThere were a lot of high-value targets in the room. The President and vice president were both up on stage \u2013 POTUS, FLOTUS, VPOTUS \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is where Reagan got shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is the first time Trump has attended the gala since 2011 \u2014 marking his first appearance as president.<\/p>\n

Before the event, pro-Palestine protesters lined the street outside the Washington Hilton, waving flags and holding signs that read \u201cMedia lies, Gaza dies\u201d and \u201cno war for Israel,\u201d and sporting caricature masks depicting War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n

One protester stormed the red carpet as guests arrived \u2014 only to be swiftly hauled away into custody.<\/p>\n

Trump pleaded with the country to have peaceful political discourse at a press briefing after the shooting.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked that all Americans recommit with their hearts and resolve our differences peacefully,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to resolve our differences. I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals and progressives.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Trump, first lady Melania and a slew of top lawmakers and White House officials had to be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":210030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[153,4542,7391,9,11,10,87,3980,58,83124],"class_list":{"0":"post-210029","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-donald-trump","9":"tag-guns","10":"tag-melania-trump","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-headlines","13":"tag-new-york-news","14":"tag-politics","15":"tag-shootings","16":"tag-us-news","17":"tag-white-house-correspondents-dinner"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=210029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/210029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/210030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=210029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=210029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=210029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}