The 31-year-old suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner had won a “teacher of the month” award and was described as “gentle” and “really smart” by a former volleyball teammate.
Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was taken into custody after gunfire rang out Saturday night at the dinner attended by President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Cabinet officials and members of the media.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC News that he believes the suspect was targeting administration officials.
“We do believe it was administration officials,” Mr. Blanche told NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Obviously, President Trump is a member of the administration, the head of it, but as far as exacting threats that may have been communicated beforehand, we’re still actively investigating that evidence.
Officials have not released a motive for the attack.
Mr. Allen earned an undergraduate degree from the California Institute of Technology in 2017. He graduated with a master’s degree from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 2025.
California State University, Dominguez Hills confirmed that a student named Cole Allen graduated in 2025 but said it could not confirm if he is the suspected gunman.
Mr. Allen worked as a teacher at C2 Education, a private tutoring company in Los Angeles, where he was named teacher of the month in December 2024.
Facebook and LinkedIn accounts that appear to be linked to Mr. Allen detailed a game he released in 2018 dubbed “Bohrdom.” The game is described as a “skill-based, non-violent, asymmetrical fighting game loosely derived from a chemistry model that is itself loosely based on reality.” There appeared to be no reviews of the game on social media accounts tied to Mr. Allen.
He also refers to himself as an “independent game developer” on social media.
A graduate of Pacific Lutheran High School in Gardena, a former teammate on the school’s volleyball team told NBC News that he was “gentle” and “really smart.”
“Other people study hard. He didn’t have to study. It would just come to him. He was really, really smart,” said the ex-teammate, who did not wish to be identified.
“He was probably the most gentle person on the team, which makes it even more shocking that he did this,” the teammate said.
Jeff Smith, a neighbor of Mr. Allen’s, said he met the suspect one time.
“The one interaction I had was like, maybe he could be on the spectrum,” Mr. Smith told The New York Post.
Federal Election Commission records show that Mr. Allen made a $25 donation to Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign in October 2024. He also displayed a sign for a Democrat-backed judge on the front lawn of his California home, according to photos of his house posted on social media.
Little is known about Mr. Allen’s movements before the shooting at the dinner in the ballroom of the Washington Hilton.
Mr. Blanche said the suspect had taken a train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then Chicago to Washington, where he checked into the Hilton hotel a day or so before the dinner.
Torrance is a middle-class suburb about 15 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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