Mia Williams
The suspected shooter who allegedly opened fire at the White House correspondents' dinner on Saturday sent a chilling note to his family members just ten minutes before shots rang out at the Washington Hilton hotel.
The suspect, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, will be formally charged at a hearing in Washington today (April 27), after allegedly firing numerous shots at the annual dinner, which is attended by members of the press and government officials.
Federal officers reported that the gunman, allegedly from Torrance, California, ran past security, carrying a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives.
With more than 2,000 people in attendance, the evening erupted as guests crowded beneath their circular dinner tables, and Secret Service agents flew across the room to escort government officials, including President Trump and Vice President JD Vance, away from the chaos.
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One Secret Service agent was shot at close range, but was saved by his bullet-proof vest.
The annual event has been held at the Washington Hilton for many years, and while security around the dinner itself is extremely tight, the hotel remains open to guests as usual.
However, following the violent attack, the White House has announced that a meeting will take place later this week to discuss security procedures going forward.
After Allen was detained on Saturday evening at the Washington Hilton hotel, he allegedly told law enforcement officers that he had wanted to shoot members of the Trump administration, according to the BBC.
The alleged gunman also reportedly sent a chilling note to his family members just minutes before chaos descended upon the venue, which a close relative later handed over to officers.
Allen supposedly nicknamed himself the 'Friendly Federal Assassin' in the eerie manifesto, in which he prioritized his targets from 'highest-ranking to lowest'.
"Let me start off by apologizing to everyone whose trust I abused," the note, as per CNN, allegedly reads.
While expressing his political anger, he added: "I don’t expect forgiveness."
He continued: "I apologise to everyone...who suffered before I was able to attempt this, to all who may still suffer after, regardless of my success or failure."
Allen also allegedly confessed that he may have given 'a lot of people a surprise today' prior to the shooting.
His note also said: "In order to minimise casualties, I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls), but I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary."
On LinkedIn, the alleged gunman describes himself as 'mechanical engineer, game developer, and teacher'.
And in December 2024, he was named 'teacher of the month' by a tutoring company for collage-age students.