The Suspect, a Video Game Engineer and Developer

The armed attacker who plunged a press gala attended by President Donald Trump into chaos has been identified by American media as a 31-year-old mechanical engineer from California.

Hours after the gunfire outside the ballroom where the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner was held on Saturday, Donald Trump shared a photo of the suspect handcuffed on the ground.

The man with brown hair and a mustache was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from Torrance, California, by several American media outlets, citing law enforcement sources.

According to the New York Post, the suspect had sent a manifesto to his family minutes before the incident, stating his intention to kill Trump administration members.

An online profile under the name “Cole Allen” showed a man who appeared to match the photo shared by Trump. In the profile, Allen described himself as a mechanical engineer and game developer based in Los Angeles.

In a statement, the California Institute of Technology confirmed that an individual named Cole Allen graduated in 2017, although they could not confirm if it was the same person involved in the attack.

Last year, Cole Allen posted a photo of himself in graduation attire, indicating he had completed his master’s degree in Computer Science at California State University Dominguez Hills. Additionally, he mentioned developing an independent game called “Bohrdom”.

NBC News reported that Allen attended Pacific Lutheran High School in Los Angeles and was a member of the volleyball team. One former teammate described him as highly intelligent and stable.

Campaign finance records show that a person named Cole Allen, identified as a teacher at C2 Education in Torrance, made a $25 donation to a fundraising group for the unsuccessful Democratic candidate Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.