Who is Cole Allen, the man behind the attack on Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner: a professor and mechanical engineer

This Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner was disrupted by the presence of an attacker who attempted to target the Trump administration, as he later admitted after being captured. As a result, President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and the rest of the cabinet were escorted out of the Hilton hotel where the event was being held.

Trump said hours after the incident that it appeared the gunman acted alone, but said that it’s not clear. The attacker has been identified as Cole Allen, a 31-year-old man from California. Trump himself shared an image showing Allen on the ground, shirtless, after being detained by the Secret Service.

Authorities believe the suspect was staying at the hotel. Security footage shows him running into the lobby carrying several weapons: a hunting shotgun, a handgun, and a knife. Allen lives and works as a teacher in Torrance, a city south of Los Angeles. On his LinkedIn profile, he describes himself as trained as a mechanical and computer engineer, an independent video game developer by experience, and a teacher by calling.

Education and master’s degree

On social media, he was even recognized as Teacher of the Month in December 2024. At the school, he taught courses through C2 Education, a national test preparation and tutoring network for students aiming to get into college. As for his academic background, he studied at Caltech, a prestigious private university in Pasadena. He earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills, which he completed last year. He is also an amateur video game developer.

“He was a very good student indeed, always sitting in the first row of my class, paying attention, and frequently emailing me with coursework questions. Soft spoken, very polite, a good fellow,” Bin Tang, one of his university professors, told the Associated Press. “I am very shocked to see the news,” he added.

During the most recent election, according to federal records, he donated $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee supporting Kamala Harris.

At this time, it is unknown when he arrived in Washington or how he got there. The motives behind the attack also remain unclear. During the incident, between five and eight shots were fired. One agent was hit but did not suffer serious injuries thanks to a bulletproof vest.

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