This photo shows a long table with yellow crimping on the side at the front of the image on the left side, while on the right, a metal bar blocks the way. There are many glasses on the table, with two people crouched at each end, while a cameraman is in the middle and a standing officer with a weapon in the center. In the top right and left of the image, two screens read” White House Correspondents’ Association’.

On Saturday, April 25th, the President’s Correspondents’ Association Dinner was subjected to open fire from outside the ballroom. 

President Trump was quickly evacuated from the room, and security personnel quickly neutralized the man who attacked the event. No one was injured during the strike. The man who did it is a 31-year-old named Cole Tomas Allen, and he is currently in custody.

What Happened? 

 On that night, security recordings revealed that the suspect had rushed through the security checkpoint with a weapon in hand. The guards scrambled for a moment to get into position before heading after the assailant. There is also footage that shows the President getting escorted out of the room when shots were heard as everyone else ducked beneath their seats and security personnel filled the edges of the room, weapons at the ready. There is no other footage of the attack, but Allen was taken care of swiftly. No one was injured, despite Allen’s intentions. He is supposed to be charged in Federal court by April 27th. 

Who is the Suspect? 

Cole Thomas Allen is a 31-year-old man from Torrance, California. In a press interview shortly after the attack, President Trump called the man a “Lone Wolf” and a “Whack job”; however, his history shows that he seems far from it. Allen is a trained engineer who was once an intern at NASA. He graduated from the California Institute of Technology, was well-versed in several subjects, and was awarded “Teacher of the Year” at C2 Education, which is a dedicated program helping high school students get into college. 

Before the attack, Allen sent his family members a note, apologizing to all of his connections for what he was about to do (which was provided to NBC News by a senior administrator). Allen’s brother contacted the New London Police Department in Connecticut when he got the information, and his sister told the Secret Service, along with the Montgomery County police department, after the shooting that Allen tended to make radical statements.  

As of this article’s writing, there has been no news about the arrest of Allen.