A man suspected of shooting near the venue of the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner has been detained in the United States. According to CNN, the suspect is 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, a resident of Torrance, a suburb of Los Angeles. The incident occurred on Saturday evening while President Trump and other high-ranking officials were inside the building.
As CNN notes, Allen was apprehended armed near the event venue. His identity was established through law enforcement data and public records. Attention was drawn to the suspect not only because of the incident itself, but also due to his professional and educational background.
Profession and education
According to information from LinkedIn, Cole Tomas Allen worked as an instructor at C2 Education, a company specializing in test preparation and tutoring. In December 2024, the company named him “Teacher of the Month,” as evidenced by posts on C2’s social media. Late Saturday evening, company representatives did not respond to journalists’ calls.
Allen graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering. In 2025, he completed his studies at California State University-Dominguez Hills, earning a master’s degree in computer science. While still at Caltech, he made local news for developing a prototype emergency brake for wheelchairs.
Game development and civic engagement
Allen’s profile also states that he develops video games. His indie game Bohrdom is sold on the Steam platform for $1.99, and in 2018 he registered a trademark for this name. On LinkedIn, he indicated that he was working on a second game with the working title “First Law.”
Among other details found in open sources is a $25 donation to Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign in October 2024, as confirmed by data from the US Federal Election Commission.
Context and sources
The incident involving the detention of an armed man near the White House received wide coverage in the American media. Journalists Curt Devine, Scott Glover, Kyung Lah, and Majlie de Puy Kamp participated in the investigation, according to CNN. At the time of publication, official representatives of C2 Education had not commented on the situation.
