President Donald Trump says the suspect wrote an anti-Christian statement and is a “sick guy.”
Published April 26, 2026
US authorities believe a gunman accused of trying to break into the White House Correspondents' Association dinner was targeting US President Donald Trump and members of his administration, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says.
Blanche said Sunday that authorities believe the suspect traveled from California to Washington, D.C., by train via Chicago.
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On Saturday night, shots were fired near the ballroom where the dinner was being held as Secret Service agents subdued the gunman and as Trump, senior administration officials and hundreds of journalists attended the event.
Investigators have not publicly named the suspect, but several US media outlets have identified him as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California.
Trump told Fox News that the suspect's family expressed concerns about him to local police before the event. The president also told the television news channel that the accused had written an anti-Christian statement.
“The guy is a sick guy,” he told Fox News. “When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians.”
Law enforcement officials who conducted initial examinations of the suspect's electronic devices and his writings believe he intended to attack members of the Trump administration who attended the dinner.
“It appears that, in fact, he set out to attack people who work in the administration, probably including the president,” Blanche told NBC television.
The suspect is believed to have purchased the two firearms he was carrying on Saturday night in recent years, the attorney general said. He is not cooperating with authorities and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday, Blanche said.
Social media posts that appear to match the suspect show that he is a highly trained tutor and amateur video game developer with multiple degrees in computer science and mechanical engineering.
Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running between security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him. An officer wearing a bulletproof vest was shot but was recovering, authorities said. The gunman was detained and was not injured, but was taken to the hospital for evaluation, police said.
Outside the hotel, members of the National Guard and other authorities flooded the area while helicopters flew overhead.
Trump used the incident to push his plans to build a grand ballroom next to the White House, a plan that has faced legal challenges and which polls show a majority of Americans oppose.
“What happened last night is exactly why our great military, the Secret Service, law enforcement, and, for different reasons, every president for the last 150 years, have been DEMANDING that a large, safe and secure ballroom be built ON THE GROUNDS OF THE WHITE HOUSE,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday.
The $400 million ballroom has become a passion project for Trump during his second term.
Trump was unusually conciliatory after what he saw as a third attempt on his life in less than two years, calling for bipartisan unity and healing.
