Cole Allen appears in court for first time: 5 chilling things to know about White House diner shooting suspect

Surveillance video shows him leaving the room dressed in black and carrying a shotgun, a handgun and knives in his bag. He used the stairwell to avoid security and headed toward the ballroom, where Secret Service officers stopped him.

Officials said between five and eight shots were fired. One officer was shot, but his bulletproof vest saved him and he is expected to be OK. Trump was quickly taken away uninjured.

He received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Caltech in 2017 and a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills in 2025.

Bin Tang, Allen’s computer science professor, tells us cbs news “He is indeed a very good student. He always sits in the first row of my class, pays close attention, and often sends me emails to ask questions about the course. He is soft-spoken, very polite, and a good person. I was very shocked to see this news.”

Also read: ‘Cole Allen’: Bizarre tweet from December 2023 resurfaces, sparking uproar on social media after White House dinner shooting

Allen shared some of his writings with his family before the attack. A family member also told investigators that Allen had been making extreme statements for some time and often talked about doing “something” to solve the world’s problems. They also said he often practiced at a shooting range, CBS News reported

according to newsweekHis sister said he purchased two handguns and a shotgun from Cap Tactical Firearms and placed them at their parents’ home without their knowledge, a White House official said. The shotgun was purchased in August 2025 and the other pistol was purchased in 2023, CBS News reported.

Also read: What charges does WHCD shooting suspect Cole Allen currently face? What we know so far

“Based on what we know now, it’s clear that this individual intended to cause as much harm and destruction as possible,” Pirro said. “Thankfully, because the checkpoint was right outside the ballroom where thousands of people were listening to the President of the United States speak, the checkpoint worked and when it became clear where the defendant was going, no one was hurt.”

“There are a number of federal charges that could come into play in addition to those two charges, but that depends on what we know about his motivation, his intent and the premeditation of his decisions,” Branch said.