One former student said Cole Thomas Allen came across as a completely ordinary man.
A former student of White House shooting suspect Cole Allen said he appeared to be a “totally normal guy” who showed no likelihood of doing anything like what he did. When Cole Tomas Allen, 31, opened fire outside the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, the former student said: “It was weird.”The Caltech graduate also recently received the Teacher of the Month award. Allen had a shotgun, a pistol and a knife and was a guest at the Washington Hilton, where the dinner was held.Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC News that Allen told police he was going after “executive officers,” but may not have targeted anyone specifically and was alone.A former classmate said Allen had never shown the ability to do such a thing. George Daghlian, who attended the Christian Fellowship Club at Caltech with Allen, told the Journal he was shocked.He also holds a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.According to the LinkedIn post, Allen worked as a teacher at C2 Education, a private tutoring and test preparation company, and was named the company’s Teacher of the Month in December 2024.Allen is registered as non-partisan, according to voting records. According to Federal Election Commission filings, he donated $25 to ActBlue in 2024 with a memo “designating Harris to run for president.”Allen lives in Torrance, about 15 miles from downtown Los Angeles. The FBI raided the home Saturday night and spoke with neighbors. Allen is scheduled to appear in court on Monday. He was charged with two counts: use of a firearm during a violent crime and assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.Allen apparently made the trek from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington, D.C., according to reports.
