Who is Cole Tomas Allen, suspect in White House press gala shooting?
Accused attacker at Washington media dinner is a tutor and computer engineer from California
The California man arrested in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer opposed to the policies of President Donald Trump.
Authorities say Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was taken into custody at the dinner Saturday night in Washington that was attended by Trump and top members of his administration.
A social media profile for a man with the same name and a photo that appears to match that of the suspect show he worked part-time for the last six years at a company that offers admissions counselling and test preparation services to aspiring college students.
In a message sent to family members minutes before the attack, the 31-year-old described himself as “Friendly Federal Assassin” and railed against recent actions taken by the US government under Trump, though he did not name the Republican president directly, according to a copy obtained by Associated Press.
The writings ran more than a thousand words and read as a rambling, deeply personal message, opening almost jarringly with a casual “hello everybody!” before shifting into apologies to family members, co-workers, fellow travellers and even strangers he feared could be caught in the violence. The note moved between confession, grievance and farewell, with Allen thanking people in his life even as he sought to explain the attack.
Elsewhere, the document veered between political anger, religious justifications and rebuttals to imagined critics, at times reading as if he were arguing with detractors in real time.