White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting suspect worked as California teacher
Source: CNN US
Updated Apr 26, 2026, 2:59 AM ET
PUBLISHED Apr 26, 2026, 12:17 AM ET
The man suspected of opening fire at the White House Correspondents Association Dinner on Saturday night worked as a teacher and video game developer from Southern California, according to public records.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, who lives in the Los Angeles suburb of Torrance, has been identified by law enforcement as the armed man subdued near the dinner where President Trump and other officials had gathered, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Overnight into Sunday, FBI agents assembled outside a home linked to Allen in Torrance, a Los Angeles suburb. Police tape was put up along part of the street and a spotlight was shone on the home. A number of reporters were gathered at the scene and news helicopters were hovering overhead.
A next-door neighbor, who did not wish to be identified, told CNN he was not sure if Allen lived at the property. They said they did not see him often, but he was there a couple of days ago. The neighbor said the suspected gunmans father is friendly and chatty, adding that they spoke frequently.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/26/us/white-house-correspondents-dinner-shooter-teacher-invs
cstanleytech
(28,542 posts)wnylib
(26,295 posts)In the video that saw, it looked like the SS and other security people were standing next to the entrance, but not right at it, not physically blocking it with their bodies. I could not see the actual entrance, but from the speed that Allen was running at, it seems like there was no physical barrier blocking the entrance.
Allen raced rapidly right past security. He was quickly followed by one man in uniform who looked to me like a police officer. That officer had his gun drawn and was shouting at Allen, who I could not see at that point in the video. The police officer was searching alone for a while before other security personnel joined him.
The video that I saw did not show Allen shooting the gun. It did not show the actual takedown of Allen, only his body on the floor, face down, after he was subdued.
yardwork
(69,504 posts)wnylib
(26,295 posts)JHB
(38,282 posts)All of his higher-level stuff is a shit-show, so why expect more at lower levels?
yardwork
(69,504 posts)Just Jerome
(519 posts)Set up?
Scam?
Get out the 4 inch gauze pads!
yankee87
(2,843 posts)All because of the Epstein files
GreenWave
(12,721 posts)Bengus81
(10,275 posts)Deminpenn
(17,551 posts)It was rally attendees who spotted him first and even when they pointed Crooks out to security, the building wasn't immediately surrounded, swarmed or anything like that. It was just one guy who tried to access the roof from outside. Very lucky for Trump that one LE guy made Crooks shoot a little sooner than he wanted.
Bengus81
(10,275 posts)Now this guy just waltzes by security with a fucking shotgun? Such total BS.
Deminpenn
(17,551 posts)When I'd go to pro sports teams games, I used to look around and think about what destruction a determined person could cause despite the presence of cops, fencing and scanners.
orleans
(37,087 posts)shows that
Whip-poor-will
(385 posts)and security steeped aside instead of tackling him.
lostnfound
(17,585 posts):
JT45242
(4,073 posts)Haven't seen much about him yet
sop
(18,985 posts)WTF is going on?

Trump knew?

..........
Edited to add info: (From Al Jazeera) "The chief of Washington, DCs police department said investigators think the suspect was staying as a guest at the Washington Hilton, where the annual dinner was held, though they have not yet established a motive."
"Facebook posts appearing to be linked to Allen indicate he was recognised as 'Teacher of the Month' in December 2024 by the Torrance branch of C2 Education, a national private tutoring and test-preparation company for college-bound students."
"A LinkedIn profile under the suspects name describes him as a 'mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience and teacher by birth."
"Allen contributed $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee in support of Kamala Harris for president in 2024, according to federal campaign finance records."
travelingthrulife
(5,427 posts)SouthBayDem
(33,320 posts)with a profile pic of Charlie Kirk and a not so subtle antisemitic jab.
lonely bird
(2,995 posts)This is already running out of control.
Teacher by birth?
IDF?
mdbl
(8,721 posts)I guess to garner voter sympathy for an evil asshole sitting at the table who will probably try and use this to install martial law.
Talitha
(8,099 posts)Bring in the clowns.
Whip-poor-will
(385 posts)First time in ten years since Obama lit him up
Just one moe coincidence i suppose
jmbar2
(8,071 posts)He's probably a disgruntled job seeker. Busted his ass to complete rigorous training in his field, caught up in endless layoffs and underpaying jobs. Tutoring and substituting as a last resort to survive. It broke him.
I see these stories posted on Reddit all day long. Young educated people are living desperate lives - can't get jobs, afford a place to live, etc. I would not be surprised to see more lash out like this.
That's my theory...
BumRushDaShow
(171,083 posts)(which I did) and the reality is trying to get past the ironic requirement of "having (prior) experience" for what is an "entry level" job.
I.e., it's rare to have a company hire someone right out of college. So then that student is encouraged to go into more debt to get more degrees an go into more debt, with little chance of that being "enough".
This is a weakness of the STEM fields where there have been few "internship" or similar programs for students to participate in to at least put that on their resumes. Meaning these companies don't want to spend money to train some up-and-comings to be future employees (some giving the excuse of being afraid of spending money on training/internships only for their "trainee" to get "hired away" ).
AZLD4Candidate
(6,840 posts)Governments don't want a population capable of critical thinking, they want obedient workers, people just smart enough to run the machines and just dumb enough to passively accept their situation.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/oLI0RuDAqjI
" Forget the politicians. They are irrelevant. The politicians are put there to give you the idea that you have freedom of choice. You don't. You have no choice! You have OWNERS! They OWN YOU. They own everything. They own all the important land. They own and control the corporations. Theyve long since bought, and paid for the Senate, the Congress, the state houses, the city halls, they got the judges in their back pockets and they own all the big media companies, so they control just about all of the news and information you get to hear. They got you by the balls.
They spend billions of dollars every year lobbying, lobbying, to get what they want. Well, we know what they want. They want more for themselves and less for everybody else, but I'll tell you what they dont want:
They dont want a population of citizens capable of critical thinking. They dont want well informed, well educated people capable of critical thinking. Theyre not interested in that. That doesnt help them. Thats against their interests.
Thats right. They dont want people who are smart enough to sit around a kitchen table and think about how badly theyre getting fucked by a system that threw them overboard 30 fucking years ago. They dont want that!
You know what they want? They want obedient workers. Obedient workers, people who are just smart enough to run the machines and do the paperwork. And just dumb enough to passively accept all these increasingly shitty jobs with the lower pay, the longer hours, the reduced benefits, the end of overtime and vanishing pension that disappears the minute you go to collect it, and now theyre coming for your Social Security money. They want your retirement money. They want it back so they can give it to their criminal friends on Wall Street, and you know something? Theyll get it. Theyll get it all from you sooner or later cause they own this fucking place! It's a big club, and you aint in it! You, and I, are not in the big club. "
As my DU quote says: It's a big club. And you ain't in it. You and I are not part of the big club."
BumRushDaShow
(171,083 posts)jmbar2
(8,071 posts)Gonna have to rewatch that movie. Ned Beatty is terrifying in this scene.
BumRushDaShow
(171,083 posts)and except for the changes in the Dow 30 companies and the existence of the Euro as a currency since then (knocking out some of the ones he mentions), everything else applies.
LeftInTX
(34,637 posts)BumRushDaShow
(171,083 posts)(including the one with the routine referenced)
I still like his "Stuff" one.
AZLD4Candidate
(6,840 posts)jmbar2
(8,071 posts)The on-ramp has been destroyed. These are our best and brightest young folks. I feel deeply for their distress.
lostnfound
(17,585 posts)choosing to get a masters in computer science and then just end up tutoring is a little weird.
efhmc
(16,860 posts)popsdenver
(2,450 posts)these things are appearing to be Red Herrings, chock full of question marks.......
His speech afterwards was full of things to be analyzed about what happened and about him!
tonekat
(2,554 posts)...it shows how disliked he is. I think of that episode of The Sopranos when someone takes a shot at him and the FBI tries to scare him into testifying by telling him and Carmela "The assassination attempts will not stop!"
Traildogbob
(13,102 posts)Teacher, different color, damn casting for MAGA boogie man were covering the bases. He will be Gay, Muslim, an Antifa high ranking member that loves Springsteen by end of the week.