Security footage reveals White House dinner shooting, Trump rushed to safety

Security footage from the Washington Hilton shows how quickly a high-profile dinner turned into a security failure. A man authorities identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, allegedly got through a Secret Service checkpoint outside the ballroom armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives, then opened fire as nearly 2,600 guests sat inside for the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

The timeline captured in the video is stark. CBS’s analysis places the gunfire at about 8:34:33 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The ballroom was on a different floor from the checkpoint, separated by a staircase, and that vertical gap mattered. A proper screening system should have stopped an armed suspect before he reached that choke point, not after he was already moving through the hotel and into position to fire.

President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and cabinet officials were evacuated from the ballroom. More than 20 seconds passed before Trump was whisked offstage by his security detail. For an event packed with senior officials, that delay underscores how vulnerable a crowded ceremonial setting can become when a suspect is able to exploit the handoff between hotel security and federal protection.

The episode also left one Secret Service officer wounded. Officials said the officer was struck while wearing a bulletproof vest and was released from the hospital shortly after the attack. That detail added urgency to the fight over how the injury happened. Jeanine Pirro later released additional video meant to clarify the sequence and reject suggestions of friendly fire. NBC reported that Pirro said there was no evidence the officer was hit by friendly fire.

Federal prosecutors then expanded the record with more video showing Allen casing the Hilton the day before the attack and moving through the hotel shortly before the shooting. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia released nearly six minutes of footage, and the FBI says Allen was indicted on May 5, 2026, on a four-count indictment that includes attempting to assassinate the president.

The case has now become more than a criminal prosecution. It is a test of how a major Washington event, with the president, vice president and cabinet officials in attendance, allowed a heavily armed suspect to get that far inside. Weijia Jiang, who was at the dinner and heads the White House Correspondents’ Association, described the night as harrowing. The footage suggests the same conclusion: the breach began long before the shots, and the breakdowns started at the door.