Mentalist recounts terrifying shooting outside White House correspondents' dinner

Oz Pearlman said his first thought was simple and horrifying: “are we about to die?” The mentalist had been scheduled to perform at the 2026 White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., when shots rang out near the ballroom’s main magnetometer screening area and the evening collapsed into panic.

Pearlman said Secret Service agents forced Donald Trump to get down as the gunfire broke out, then placed him side-by-side with the president in the chaotic aftermath. Even then, Pearlman said he could not read Trump’s condition because “his eyes weren’t registering.” He described the scene backstage as a mix of fear, confusion and “controlled chaos,” a sharp break from the polished atmosphere that normally defines one of Washington’s most visible political nights.

The timing made the disruption even more surreal. Pearlman said he had been revealing to Trump the name of Karoline Leavitt’s unborn daughter just before the shooting began, a detail that captures how abruptly the program shifted from entertainment to emergency. Trump, first lady Melania Trump and other dignitaries were evacuated and were safe. A Secret Service agent wearing an armored vest was struck in the chest and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

Authorities identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California. Investigators said he allegedly rushed a Secret Service checkpoint and exchanged gunfire with law enforcement before being taken into custody. The White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was canceled after the shooting, a stark reminder of how exposed even heavily screened public events can be when a determined attacker reaches the perimeter.

The Justice Department said on April 27 that Allen had been arraigned and charged with attempted assassination of the president, interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. Court documents cited by the department said Allen reserved a room at the Washington Hilton from April 24 to April 26 and traveled by train from near Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington, arriving on April 24.

Trump later said he had read a manifesto and believed he may have been the target. The episode has already raised urgent questions about screening, checkpoint security and the culture of the annual dinner, which was Trump’s first attended during either of his terms and the first to be headlined by a mentalist. White House Correspondents’ Association president Weijia Jiang thanked the U.S. Secret Service and law enforcement for protecting those in the ballroom, but the bigger reckoning may be what comes next for an event built on openness, proximity and public access.