Gunman Foiled at WHCD Security Checkpoint, Trump Evacuated

A gunman armed with a shotgun, handgun, and multiple knives attempted to breach a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton Hotel during the White House Correspondents Dinner on April 25, 2026, prompting the swift evacuation of President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and other top officials from the ballroom.

The incident unfolded around 8:36 p.m. as the event, attended by about 2,500 guests including journalists, celebrities, and administration figures, was getting underway. The suspect, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, California, charged the checkpoint in the hotel lobby just outside the ballroom doors. Law enforcement officers intervened, leading to an exchange of gunfire in which a uniformed Secret Service agent was struck in his protective vest but sustained no serious injury and was later released from the hospital. No guests or dignitaries were harmed, and tactical teams apprehended Allen at the scene without firing shots that struck him. Authorities described him as a mechanical engineer, video game developer, and educator with no prior criminal record. Officials believe he traveled by train from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., in...