Shootings at the press gala with Donald Trump: “lone wolf”, video game developer… What do we know about the suspect?

While more than a hundred guests were gathered on Saturday evening, April 25, at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in the presence of Donald Trump, a man entered the premises and fired several shots. Apprehended, the 31-year-old suspect is a teacher and video game developer.

It is around 9 p.m., the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is in full swing when five shots ring out behind the reception door, while Donald and Melania Trump have just sat down on the platform on Saturday, April 25 evening. The American president was then evacuated and the suspect apprehended. The man was identified by law enforcement as Cole Thomas Allen, a professor and developer from Torrance, California. He will appear in court on Monday.

“This is not the first time in recent years that our Republic has been attacked by a would-be assassin who was looking to kill,” declared Donald Trump, still in a tuxedo, during a press conference given at the White House about two hours after the incident.

A “lone wolf”, according to Trump

Facing Donald Trump are journalists in bow ties and long dresses, who like him had gone to this annual dinner bringing together the elite of politics and the media in Washington.

The American president told the press that the attacker was an “unbalanced lone wolf” and a “crazy”. Shortly after the shootings, President Donald Trump released a photo of the shooter, half-naked, lying on his stomach, handcuffed behind his back and surrounded by federal agents.

Quickly, elements of the identity of the attacker were broadcast by the American media. The suspect appears to be Cole Thomas Allen, 31. He is originally from Torrance, a suburb of Los Angeles, California. The American media CNN consulted his Linkedin profile, which this Sunday morning was no longer accessible. The thirty-year-old would be a video game developer, engineer and professor.

Authorities said he had no criminal record and was not known to police before the shooting.

The shooter will appear Monday

Police said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a pistol and several knives when he was arrested.

The 30-year-old will appear in court on Monday, the American authorities announced at a press conference. He will be charged with two counts: the first for use of a firearm during a violent crime and the second for the assault of a federal agent using a dangerous weapon, said the prosecutor of the American capital, Jeanine Pirro.

Washington police reported that, according to preliminary information, the suspect had reserved a room at the Washington Hilton hotel where the gala dinner was taking place.