Cole Tomas Allen, the man who is alleged to have fired gunshots at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner, was targeting members of the Trump administration, CBS News reported.
The 31-year-old Torrance, California, resident was apprehended at the scene after opening fire outside the ballroom where the event was being held.
Two sources told CBS News he told law enforcement following his arrest that he wanted to shoot Trump administration officials.
"We believe the suspect was targeting administration officials," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC News.
Blanche cited certain writings by the suspect and interviews with people who knew him.
He did not say whether Allen was specifically targeting President Donald Trump.
Sources told the New York Post that Allen wasn't targeting anyone in particular at the dinner.
"He was trying to just breach his way in and take whoever he could," a law enforcement source told the Post.
Social media posts that appear to match Allen show he is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer.
A May 2025 profile photo of Allen appears to match the appearance of the man in a photo of the alleged attacker being taken into custody that was posted Saturday night by Trump.
The photo, posted to the social networking site LinkedIn, shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master's degree in computer science from California State University Dominguez Hills.
Allen earned a bachelor's degree in 2017 in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He listed his involvement there in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that battled with Nerf guns.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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