Who is Cole Tomas Allen, suspect in White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting?
Allen has a professional background in education and technology. He graduated from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering
Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old resident of Torrance, California, has been identified by law enforcement as the suspect in a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner attended by President Donald Trump and other officials.
Allen has a professional background in education and technology. He graduated from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2017 with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, says CNN.
During his undergraduate studies, he gained local recognition for developing a prototype emergency brake for wheelchairs. In 2025, he completed a master's degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills.
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His career has included work in tutoring and software development. Allen worked part-time at C2 Education, a tutoring and test preparation company, where he was named "teacher of the month" in December 2024.
He has also identified himself as a video game developer and published an independent game titled Bohrdom on the Steam platform. He registered the trademark for the game in 2018 and was developing a second title under the working name "First Law".
Law enforcement officials said Allen was the armed man subdued near the event on Saturday night. Federal Election Commission records show he made a $25 donation to Kamala Harris' presidential campaign in October 2024.
