New images show suspect before correspondents’ dinner shooting, prosecutors say

Fresh images have added a sharper timeline to the Washington Hilton shooting case, showing Cole Tomas Allen allegedly taking a selfie at about 8:03 p.m. ET on April 25 before prosecutors say he moved toward the correspondents’ dinner checkpoint in black clothing, with an ammunition-filled bag, a shoulder holster, a sheathed knife, pliers and wire cutters.

The new photos matter because they show more than just a suspect in the building. They appear to place Allen, a 31-year-old from Torrance, California, in full tactical-style preparation shortly before the confrontation that sent President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, administration officials and members of Congress scrambling out of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. Prosecutors say Allen then rushed a screening checkpoint at the Washington Hilton with a raised shotgun, turning a political gala into an active crime scene.

The Department of Justice has charged Allen 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 violent crime. In the filing, prosecutors said a Secret Service officer fired five times at Allen after he charged the checkpoint and fired his shotgun toward it. Allen fell, was restrained and suffered only a minor knee injury, rather than being shot.

The images also fit with the broader case prosecutors are building around intent. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said investigators believe Allen was targeting administration officials, not acting at random. Officials said they found a written manifesto and anti-Trump, anti-Christian rhetoric on Allen’s social media, and that he had traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington, D.C., checking into the hotel on Friday, April 24.

Security failures and near misses are now central to the inquiry. A Secret Service agent who was struck by gunfire while wearing a bulletproof vest was released from the hospital, underscoring how close the attack came to producing far worse casualties. The dinner itself was canceled after the venue was locked down as the investigation unfolded.

What the new images add is a tighter sequence and a clearer picture of preparation: Allen was not merely present outside the event, prosecutors say, but armed, equipped and moving with purpose just before the checkpoint breach. That evidence will likely shape the next stage of the case, as prosecutors press for detention and investigators test how far the alleged planning went before the shots were fired.