Secret Service Officer Shot by Suspect at White House Correspondents’ Dinner

A U.S. Secret Service officer was struck by a bullet during a shooting incident outside the Washington Hilton ballroom where the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was taking place Saturday night. Multiple senior law enforcement officials confirmed the round that hit the officer was fired by the suspected gunman, 31-year-old Cole Allen, and not by friendly fire from law enforcement personnel. Investigators from the Justice Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have determined that Allen fired his shotgun at a security checkpoint one floor above the ballroom.

The officer, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was likely hit in the cellphone tucked inside a pocket of the vest, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The officer was not seriously injured and was released from the hospital over the weekend. During the incident, the officer returned fire after being struck. Allen fell to the floor and was arrested at the scene without sustaining injuries.

Allen, a teacher and engineer from Torrance, California, faces multiple charges including attempted assassination of the president, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, violent crime, and transporting a firearm in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony. He made his first federal court appearance on Monday but did not enter a plea.

Video footage captured Allen running with a shotgun and other weapons toward the checkpoint. Prosecutors filed photos showing Allen in his hotel room before the attack, dressed in black with a red necktie, wearing a small leather bag consistent with the ammunition-filled bag recovered from him, along with a shoulder holster, a sheathed knife, pliers, and wire cutters.

According to a note Allen sent to family members minutes before the attack, he believed it was his duty to target Trump administration officials. The note included an apology and a statement that he did not expect forgiveness.

Those who knew Allen described him as a “borderline genius” and a gentle person interested in coding. He attended the California Institute of Technology and was once a NASA intern.

Federal public defenders filed an emergency motion Wednesday stating that jail officials had not provided confidential communication access with Allen. U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Matthew Sharbaugh promptly ordered the corrections department to allow unrestricted legal visits between Allen and his defense team. Investigators continue to analyze Allen’s electronic devices, including computers and phones recovered from his California home and hotel room.