Gunman targets Trump and officials at White House dinner, authorities say

A man armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives charged a Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton and sent President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Cabinet members racing out of the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, authorities said.

The gunfire broke out around 8:35 p.m. ET on April 25, 2026, inside a hotel packed with about 2,600 guests. Secret Service agents and other law enforcement tackled the suspect and took him into custody after he breached security in the lobby, separated from the ballroom by a staircase. A Secret Service officer was struck by a round but was protected by a bulletproof vest and later released from the hospital, according to investigators.

Officials identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Allen of Torrance, California, based on law-enforcement sources. Investigators said they were reviewing writing found at the Washington Hilton that described a manifesto and suggested he was targeting Trump administration officials. The motive probe was still underway, but the material has made the attack part of a wider concern in Washington: politically charged threats aimed at current and former leaders, and the pressure such threats place on federal security planning at public events.

Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said the suspect was being charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon. Trump later said the dinner would be rescheduled within 30 days. He also told 60 Minutes that he “wasn’t worried” during the chaos and praised the Secret Service’s response.

The attack landed at one of Washington’s most visible political-media gatherings. The White House Correspondents’ Association was founded in 1914 to represent the White House press corps, and the dinner began in 1921. It has long served as a scholarship fundraiser and a flashpoint in the strained relationship between Trump and the press, with the president often attacking the event publicly and skipping some prior dinners.

The fallout spread beyond the hotel. CBS News reported that King Charles III’s U.S. visit underwent a security review after the shooting, though it was still set to proceed. The incident has sharpened questions about how well the capital can protect crowded, high-profile events when the threat is not abstract but arrives armed, determined and inside the perimeter.