U.S. press gala shooting suspect an engineer, computer scientist, teacher and indie game developer: reports

Reports identify California engineer and computer scientist Cole Thomas Allen, 31, shown here in an image shared to social media by U.S. President Donald Trump, as the suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Photo by CHRIS DELMAS /AFP via Getty Images

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The suspected attacker in a shooting that plunged a press gala attended by U.S. President Donald Trump into chaos has been identified by news media as a 31-year-old mechanical engineer from California.

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Hours after gunshots rang outside the ballroom where the glitzy White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was being held on Saturday, Trump shared a photo of the suspect handcuffed and face down on the carpeted floor.

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The man with brown hair and a moustache was identified by multiple U.S. news outlets, citing law enforcement sources, as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from Torrance, California.

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U.S. officials have not yet publicly confirmed the suspect’s identity.

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A LinkedIn profile with the name “Cole Allen” showed a picture of a man which appeared to match the photo shared by Trump.

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On the social media profile, Allen claimed to be an engineer with a passion for game development, based in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area.

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“Mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth,” his profile read.

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A person named Cole Allen graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 with an undergraduate degree, the university told the New York Times.

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Last year, Allen uploaded a picture wearing a graduation gown and cap, saying he was “done” with his computer science master’s degree from California State University Dominguez Hills.

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This image released by U.S. President Donald Trump via his Truth Social account shows the alleged suspect in the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on the ground after being apprehended. Photo by @REALDONALDTRUMP / TRUTH SOCIAL

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He also posted about an indie game he developed called “Bohrdom,” described as a “skill-based, non-violent” fighting game “derived from a chemistry model that is itself loosely based on reality.”

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C2 Education, a test-prep company based in Torrance, named Allen as “teacher of the month” in an Instagram post dated December 2024.

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In that post, a man with brown hair and a half-smile is pictured wearing a navy blue quarter-zip sweater, hands folded behind his back.

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Suburban residence

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Trump told reporters that the suspect, who was detained at the scene, was a California resident and law enforcement agents were probing his home.

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The suspect is due to be arraigned in court on Monday on firearm and assault charges, officials said.

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Authorities said he was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives, and was not known to Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department.

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“My impression is he was a lone wolf,” Trump said, adding that the suspect’s motivation was not yet clear but he believed the gunman was “sick.”

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FBI agents were seen preparing to enter a gabled two-story residence in Torrance, Calif., linked to the suspect. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP) Photo by Patrick T. Fallon /AFP

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FBI tactical agents were seen entering a gabled two-story residence in Torrance associated with the suspect on Saturday evening, according to an AFP photographer.

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The brown house in the southwestern Los Angeles suburb was cordoned off, glowing red and blue under flashing police lights.