White House shooting: Trump was taken to a safe location after the incident
WASHINGTON: The man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner sent writings to family members minutes before the shooting referring to himself as a “friendly federal killer,” attacking Trump administration policies and suggesting what investigators increasingly believe was a politically motivated attack, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation.The official said the writings, sent shortly before the Washington Hilton shooting, included repeated references to President Trump without directly naming him, and alluded to complaints about a range of administrative actions and recent events, including US strikes on drug smuggling boats in the eastern Pacific.
How the shooting unfolded
Investigators are treating the writings, along with a series of social media posts and interviews with family members, as some of the clearest evidence yet of the suspect’s mindset and possible motives.
President Trump told Fox News that the suspect was a “sick man” who had an anti-Christian statement and “a lot of hate in his heart.” Authorities also uncovered what the official described as numerous anti-Trump social media posts linked to the suspect, Cole Thomas Allen, a California man.
Allen’s brother contacted police in New London, Connecticut, after receiving the messages, according to the official. A police spokesman said they contacted federal law enforcement after receiving this information.
Federal agents also interviewed Allen’s sister in Maryland, who told investigators that her brother legally purchased several guns from a gun store in California and stored them at their parents’ home in Torrance without their knowledge, according to the official. The official said she described her brother as prone to making extremist statements. The official and another law enforcement official told the AP that Allen legally purchased a .38-caliber semi-automatic handgun in October 2023, and a 12-gauge shotgun two years later.Authorities are still trying to determine the extent to which Allen’s alleged targets were identified. Officials said investigators were examining whether his complaints focused on Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance personally or reflected a broader hostility toward the administration. The suspect was expected to face criminal charges on Monday from the Justice Department, whose acting chief, Todd Blanche, said the suspect traveled by train from California and checked in as a guest days earlier at the hotel where the dinner party was held Saturday night.Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show him to be a higher education teacher and hobbyist video game developer. A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the man’s appearance in a photo of the alleged attacker in custody that Trump posted on Saturday. A photo posted on LinkedIn shows him wearing a cap and gown after graduating with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University.
Allen earned his bachelor’s degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. He mentioned his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
