What We Know About the Shooting at the WHCA Dinner

The White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner has concluded. It will be rescheduled, but for tonight, it’s over. This development follows an attack by a suspected gunman at the event. Two individuals were involved in the assault. One was detained by law enforcement, and the other is in custody. We might have the suspect’s name, which we’ll mention shortly. 

A source tells me one shooter is down and another person is in custody. The source says they tried to breach security and were not able too.

— Edward Lawrence (@EdwardLawrence) April 26, 2026

BREAKING: @GiannoCaldwell was right outside of the room where the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was being held when gunshots rang out. He explains what he saw. pic.twitter.com/wimObdkGPs

— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 26, 2026

WASHINGTON (AP) — Shooter opened fire inside the hotel where Trump was attending dinner, a law enforcement official says.

— Seung Min Kim (@seungminkim) April 26, 2026

Video of White House Correspondents Association evacuation via @CBSNews pic.twitter.com/e2r0JUIdpP

— Jennifer Jacobs (@JenniferJJacobs) April 26, 2026

Update from the Washington Hilton pic.twitter.com/4vx3A1iWmw

— US Attorney Pirro (@USAttyPirro) April 26, 2026

And… it’s cancelled. There’s no conceivable way to continue this tonight. https://t.co/jFSydcDa0B

— Joe Concha (@JoeConchaTV) April 26, 2026

Every cabinet member and congressional leadership is being pulled from the room at White House dinner. Whole room is hiding under tables. Complete insanity.

— Brent Scher (@BrentScher) April 26, 2026

BREAKING: The gunman reportedly rushed a magnetometer near the front entrance and fired a shot at a Secret Service agent inside the ballroom. pic.twitter.com/Jnkgl2sTY8

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) April 26, 2026

This might be the agent who took a shot to the vest. The suspect was neutralized near a staircase. https://t.co/7MC0lq3BvU

— Emily Zanotti 🦝 (@emzanotti) April 26, 2026

The dinner was supposed to continue, but it was decided that the event at the Washington Hilton could not go on. President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, along with many top Trump officials and cabinet members, attended the event. They are safe. No other injuries or deaths have been reported, which is reassuring. The shooting happened in the lobby, where a Secret Service agent was hit but protected by his bulletproof vest. 

pic.twitter.com/yATF2V7X3K

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) April 26, 2026

The name circulating for the suspect in custody is Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from Torrance, California. How did a firearm get inside the venue? While there were metal detectors around the perimeter of the ballroom, none were at the hotel’s entrance.

NEWS: The attempted shooter at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner is 31 year old Cole Tomas Allen from Torrance, California and he is in custody.

— Karol Markowicz (@karol) April 26, 2026

Guy appears to be Caltech grad who got his masters from CSU Dominguez Hills in Comp Sci last year https://t.co/fKzEtwzg2T https://t.co/EPoLNfsKM7

— Scott Stedman (@ScottMStedman) April 26, 2026

This is a breaking news post. We’ll update accordingly.