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Acting US attorney general says suspect was likely targeting Trump administration officials

The acting US attorney general, Todd Blanche, has said that law enforcement believes that the alleged White House correspondents’ dinner shooter was targeting Donald Trump and officials in his administration.

“It does appear that he, he did, in fact, have set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC News’ Meet the Press, adding that the suspect likely traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington DC.

Blanche went on to say that he does not believe that the suspect is cooperating with the investigation.

He will be charged in federal court on Monday with assault of a federal officer, discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer, Blanche said, adding he did not know if there was an Iran connection to the attack.

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Discussions taking place on security planning for King Charles's US state visit, Buckingham Palace says

King Charles is being kept fully informed of developments and is greatly relieved to hear that Donald Trump and the first lady have been unharmed, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said today.

Charles and Queen Camilla are due to travel to Washington for a four-day state visit beginning tomorrow, and are set to meet Trump at the White House.

Following the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner, a Buckingham Palace spokesperson told Reuters that a number of discussions were taking place today on how the shooting may or may not affect any operational planning for the visit.

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Here is a quick clip that Donald Trump posted on Truth Social of what appears to be surveillance footage of the purported shooting incident at the White House correspondents’ dinner.

Here are some images coming in over the wires showing investigators and members of the media converging on the home of the suspected gunman in California:

At the White House correspondents’ dinner, darkness came viscerally close

Shocking. Unnerving. Unpredictable. Violent. For a decade I have been following the twists and turns of Donald Trump’s America with the privilege of journalistic distance. On Saturday night I felt the darkness come viscerally close.

Bang! Bang! What was that? Where was it? At 8.36pm panic and pandemonium reigned in the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton hotel. There were men running and cries of “Get down!” and “Stay down!”

I saw guests at the White House Correspondents’ Association’s (WHCA) annual dinner – men in tuxedos, women in dresses – diving under the circular tables and, almost as if acting on a cue, did likewise. It was a scene from a dozen Hollywood movies but now it was happening to me, right here, right now.

Here’s what we know so far about the suspect:

  • The Associated Press, citing two law enforcement officials, have identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California.

  • He appeared to have been a “lone” gunman, said Jeff Carroll, the interim chief of police of the Metropolitan police department, and was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives when he allegedly “charged a US Secret Service checkpoint” at the Washington Hilton.

  • We have no reason to believe at this time that anyone else was involved,” said Washington DC mayor Muriel Bowser. The suspect was taken to a local hospital where he was being “evaluated”, she said.

  • The suspect has been charged with felony firearms and assault charges, said Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia.

Aftermath of shooting incident at White House correspondents' dinner

Hello and welcome to our continuing live updates on US politics.

A suspect is in custody following a shooting incident at last night’s White House correspondents’ dinner.

Donald Trump and and wife Melania Trump were rushed out of the event at the Washington Hilton, the hotel where former president Ronald Reagan was shot in an attempted assassination in 1981.

Hundreds of guests, dressed in their black-tie best, hid under tables as US Secret Service agents with guns drawn rushed reporters out of the room and mentioned “shots fired”.

The suspect was identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, the Associated Press reported, citing two law enforcement officials. Trump posted on Truth Social two photos of the purported suspect, shirtless and facedown on the ground.

At a briefing in the press room not long after the event, Trump described the Washington Hilton as “not a particularly secure building” and argued for the merits of the construction of a ballroom at the White House. “This is why we have to have all of the attributes of what we’re planning at the White House. It’s actually a larger room, and it’s much more secure.”

Trump posted on Truth Social that he hoped to reschedule the dinner in the next 30 days.

Stay tuned for more.

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