California Video Game Developer and Educator Named as Suspect in WHCD Shooting
Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California. According to the California Institute of Technology, Allen earned an engineering degree there in 2017, the school confirmed to CBS News via email. His LinkedIn profile lists him as a self-employed video game developer and part-time teacher.
Investigators say Allen had ties to a tutoring company in Torrance known as C2 Education. However, the Torrance Unified School District told CBS News he had never been employed as a teacher within the district.
Officials believe Allen acted alone. “At this point, it does appear he is a lone actor, a lone gunman,” said Jeff Carroll, interim chief of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, during a press conference Saturday evening.
According to authorities, Allen allegedly rushed a Secret Service checkpoint carrying multiple weapons and opened fire. One bullet struck a Secret Service agent’s bulletproof vest before officers subdued and detained him. Carroll said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and several knives.
“From what we know from video surveillance and from witnesses who were there, (he) barely got past the perimeter,” Blanche said. “He was immediately subdued, and, yes, he got off a couple shots.”
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro confirmed that Allen is expected to face several charges.
When asked whether the incident represented a breakdown in security, Blanche defended the response, crediting the Secret Service with preventing a more serious outcome.
“The goal is not expected to stop every single thing, it’s to create a very safe and very secure environment, which is what happened last night,” Blanche said. “Make no mistake about it, the Secret Service did their jobs last night.”
A law enforcement official said Allen legally purchased his firearms in 2023 and 2025. He was not previously known to authorities, and all attendees at the hotel had been screened through a government database.
Still, some lawmakers criticized the level of security. Representative Mike Lawler (R., N.Y.) told CNN the protections in place fell short and argued the situation should not have escalated.
“Having attended a lot of events — and certainly having attended events with the president and cabinet — [security was] woefully insufficient when you’re talking about that many people getting into a room of that size,” Lawler said.
He also called for full funding of the Department of Homeland Security, noting the agency has been partially shut down since mid-February.
The incident disrupted the dinner at the Washington Hilton, where guests had just been seated. Shots rang out shortly after the president arrived, prompting Secret Service agents to quickly escort Trump and cabinet members from the ballroom. As a result, the meal was never served, reports National Review.
Following the shooting, Trump took to Truth Social to advocate for completing a long-discussed White House ballroom, suggesting such an incident could have been avoided if the event had been held on White House grounds.
“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, Law Enforcement and, for different reasons, every President for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe, and secure Ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday.
“It cannot be built fast enough! While beautiful, it has every highest level security feature there is plus, there are no rooms sitting on top for unsecured people to pour in, and is inside the gates of the most secure building in the World, The White House.”
