Images of the shotgun allegedly carried by White House Correspondents’ Dinner suspect Cole Allen have now been released to the public. President Donald Trump was attending the annual dinner at Washington Hilton.
Cole Allen reportedly brandished a Mossberg Maverick, a 12-gauge shotgun, as he rushed at security during the D.C. event Saturday evening. The pump-action weapon is equipped with a collapsible stock to more easily conceal the gun. It also has a pistol grip and an elongated magazine tube, the New York Post reports. Cole Allen reportedly purchased the shotgun legally from Turner’s Outdoorsman in Torrance, California, last August.
New York Post pic.twitter.com/YAwIhWOa0y
— Ben Owen™️ (@hrkbenowen) April 27, 2026
The suspect who rushed a security checkpoint when allegedly trying to reach Trump, opened fire near the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was allegedly aiming to target members of the Trump administration Saturday night.
Cole Tomas Allen, 31, told investigators he intended to go after “administration officials” attending the high-profile event at the Washington Hilton in Washington, DC, according to sources cited by The New Post also reports.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche also confirmed the suspected motive to NBC News. Authorities said Allen did not appear to have a specific individual in mind, and it remains unclear whether President Trump himself was a direct target. “He was trying to just breach his way in and take whoever he could,” one law enforcement source told The Post.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said the suspect appeared intent on creating a “national tragedy” during the widely watched event.
“[Cole Allen] underestimated the protective capabilities of the U.S. Secret Service, and was stopped at first contact. The strength of our layered security posture was evident, with a myriad of countermeasures ahead,” Quinn said in a statement.
Allen was said to be from Torrance, Calif., and described as a CalTech-educated teacher. He was identified as the person who charged the checkpoint with a shotgun, handgun and several knives before being neutralized. The shooting occurred shortly after 8:30 p.m. ET, about 20 minutes after Trump and first lady Melania Trump appeared at the podium.
Investigators have not publicly named a specific motive. Trump has also said he didn’t think the attack was related to the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran in Israel.
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooter was armed with a shotgun, handgun, and multiple knives, according to DC police chief Jeffrey Carroll.
The shooter was identified as 31-year-old teacher Cole Allen from Torrance, California.
The suspect emerged from a “makeshift… pic.twitter.com/aUK5m6AwCr
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) April 26, 2026
“It’s not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. I really don’t think so, based on what we know,” Trump said Saturday evening while speaking to reporters at the White House.
During the confrontation, a Secret Service agent was struck in the vest by gunfire and transported to a hospital. The agent is now in “great spirits,” Trump said during a later press briefing.
Allen is an engineer by training. He’s been charged with using a firearm in a crime of violence and assaulting a federal officer. That’s according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.
The suspect then tried to get into the ballroom where there were approximately 2,500 people inside including the president, Vice President JD Vance, members of the cabinet, and the press.
