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Cole Allen, a 31-year old teacher and engineer from Torrance, California, has been identified as the man suspected of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday night, two sources familiar with the matter told NPR. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
A LinkedIn page that appears to belong to Allen describes him as a “mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth.” It also says he got a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from CalTech in 2017 and a master’s degree in computer science from California State University Dominguez Hills last May.
According to the LinkedIn page, Allen worked as a part-time teacher at C2 Education, a tutoring service that offers testing prep for high school students. He received a “teacher of the month” award from the company in December 2024.
17-year-old Jason was one of the students Allen tutored. He said that in the few sessions he had with him, he was a good teacher and called him a “smart guy”. NPR is identifying Jason only by his first name because he’s a minor.
“You wouldn’t expect him to be plotting some crazy, evil plan to kill the president,” Jason said. “He was just quirky because he was a just really smart guy.”
In addition to teaching, Allen was also a self-employed video game developer. He designed an online game called Bohrdom, which was released on the online gaming platform Steam in 2018.
A White House official told NPR Allen sent his family members what the White House is calling a manifesto minutes before the incident took place at the Hilton hotel. The document states that Allen wanted to target administration officials, the White House said. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Allen’s brother notified the police of the document. NPR has not seen any of the writings independently.
The White House official also said the Secret Service and Montgomery County police spoke with Allen’s sister. In that interview, Allen’s sister said that her brother had a tendency to make radical statements and his rhetoric constantly referenced a plan to do “something” to fix the issues with today’s world. She also said he attended a “No Kings” protest in California and was part of a group called ‘The Wide Awakes’, a network of activists dedicated to social justice issues that bears the same name as the 1860s abolitionist youth movement.
Allen’s sister also said Allen purchased two handguns and a shotgun and kept them stored at his parents’ home. The parents were unaware that firearms were being stored there.
In October 2024 Allen donated $25 to fundraising platform ActBlue that was earmarked for Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign, according to Federal Elections Commission records.
Allen will be arraigned in federal court on Monday. He is being charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and with assault of a federal officer using a dangerous weapon. U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said additional charges are expected.
