Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old tutor and computer scientist from Torrance, California, has been identified as the suspect accused of charging through a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night, exchanging gunfire with Secret Service agents, and allegedly attempting to harm members of the Trump administration. Here is what we know about him so far.

Allen was a guest at the Washington Hilton, the hotel where the Correspondents' Dinner is held annually. According to CBS News, he checked in on Friday, the day before the dinner, having traveled cross-country by train — Los Angeles to Chicago, then Chicago to Washington, D.C. He was seen on surveillance video charging through metal detectors outside the ballroom while armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives.

A Secret Service agent was struck by at least one round but was protected by a bulletproof vest and is expected to recover. None of the dinner attendees were injured. President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and Vice President JD Vance were evacuated from the head table. Allen was tackled, handcuffed, and taken into custody. He was not struck by gunfire.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro announced Saturday night that he will be charged with one count each of using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, with additional charges expected. He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday.

Allen's academic record is striking. He graduated from the California Institute of Technology — Caltech — in 2017 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. Caltech confirmed his graduation to multiple news outlets. He went on to earn a master's degree in computer science at California State University, Dominguez Hills, in 2025. According to a Caltech graduation announcement still online from 2017, he was active in a Christian student fellowship and a campus club for Nerf gun enthusiasts during his undergraduate years. In the summer of 2014, his online resume says, he completed a competitive summer research fellowship at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Per Yahoo News / Los Angeles Times, his LinkedIn caption beneath a graduation photo from 2025 read: "pretty sure my Master's in CS is done." His own LinkedIn description: "mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth."

For the last six years, Allen had worked at C2 Education, a Torrance-based test prep and college counseling company. In December 2024, the company's Facebook page named him Teacher of the Month. According to the Los Angeles Times, Allen tutored several high school students who were members of the Asian American Civic Trust, a Torrance-based nonprofit. Its president, Dylan Wakayama, told the Times the students "thought he was very intelligent, proficient in biology, mathematics and science. They thought he was on the nicer, quiet side."

The Torrance Unified School District clarified that Allen had never been one of their employees.

Allen also identified publicly as an independent video game developer. His online presence describes a project called "First Law" — a top-down shooter role-playing game set in outer space, which he was in the process of developing. He had also released a Steam game based on molecular chemistry, per LiveNOW from FOX.

Federal Election Commission records show that in October 2024, Allen donated $25 to ActBlue, the Democratic fundraising platform. The donation was earmarked for Kamala Harris's presidential campaign. It was his only political donation listed in the FEC database in the past decade.

Per CBS News and CNN, ATF investigators tracked Allen's gun purchases through federal records. On October 6, 2023, he bought a .38-caliber semi-automatic pistol from a southern California gun store. On August 17, 2025, he purchased a 12-gauge shotgun from another gun store in Torrance. Both purchases were legal and went through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.

Allen's sister told FBI agents that her brother had been storing the firearms at their parents' home in Torrance — without their parents' knowledge.

Before traveling to D.C., Allen allegedly emailed a written statement to family members. His brother contacted police in New London, Connecticut, after receiving it. Federal agents have since interviewed his sister in Maryland.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday that the document indicates Allen was targeting Trump administration officials, and possibly Trump himself, though he stressed the assessment was "quite preliminary." According to a New York Post report cited by the Los Angeles Times, the manifesto refers to Allen as a "Friendly Federal Assassin" and lists administration officials as targets ranked from highest to lowest. The document also reportedly contains anti-Trump and anti-Christian language. NewsNation reported a separate detail from a law enforcement source: Allen's manifesto specifically stated he was not targeting law enforcement.

Trump told Fox News on Sunday: "The guy was a sick guy. When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians." The president has called Allen a "lone wolf" and a "whack job." He also said he wished the New London Police Department had passed the brother's tip up the chain more quickly. "I heard" about it, Trump said. "I wish they would have told us about it a little bit."

Allen was taken to a hospital for evaluation Saturday night and is being held in custody. He is reportedly not cooperating with investigators, but acquaintances are speaking with the FBI. Investigators have his cellphone, additional electronics, and writings, and are obtaining search warrants. The House Oversight Committee has requested a briefing from the Secret Service. The Correspondents' Dinner has been postponed; Trump has said he wants it rescheduled within 30 days.

Torrance Mayor George K. Chen issued a statement Sunday distancing the city from Allen's alleged actions. "One individual's alleged actions do not define our city or the values of the more than 143,000 residents who call Torrance home," he said. "The City of Torrance stands firmly against political violence, extremism, and acts of hatred in any form."

Allen is presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.