Cole Tomas Allen, the man suspected of firing shots outside the ballroom of the Washington Hilton, where US President Donald Trump was holding the annual dinner of White House correspondents on Saturday, was reportedly “armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives.”
Interim Washington, DC, police chief Jeffery Carroll was quoted by CNN as saying that the suspect in the shooting at the had several weapons as he “charged” a Secret Service checkpoint.
“He was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives,” Carroll reportedly said. Police added, “As he ran through that checkpoint, members of law enforcement from the United States Secret Service intercepted that individual.”
Carroll added that the suspect and law enforcement officers “exchanged gunfire.”
Gunman appeared to assemble ‘long’ weapon
A volunteer told the New York Post the suspected gunman appeared to assemble a “long” weapon in a lightly monitored area near the terrace-level entrance before opening fire and rushing toward the ballroom.
The witness, Helen Mabus, a volunteer working the event, described a “makeshift room” near the entrance where bar carts were being stored and where “there was no security” at the time.
“He was in that room […] he grabbed it out of a bag or something,” Mabus was quoted by the New York Post as saying, adding that the weapon “was long” and “didn’t look like a typical gun.”
Mabus said the suspect was partially out of view of security as he handled the weapon inside the room before suddenly moving toward the main event space.
“He put it together and […] ran towards the stairs to go down to the ballroom,” she said.
The gunman then began firing in multiple directions as guests and staff scrambled to escape, she added.
“It just seemed like he was shooting all over the place,” Mabus said, estimating she heard “at least 10 shots.”
Mabus told the report she fled in the opposite direction and did not see the suspect apprehended, adding that the chaos unfolded just steps from the path leading down to the ballroom where hundreds of high-profile guests had gathered.
Gunman in custody
The suspect has been taken into custody and will face two charges, according to US Attorney Jeanine Pirro: using a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.
He was swiftly detained, with shocking photos showing the shirtless suspect sprawled face down on the floor of the.
According to reports, the incident took place at around 8:34 PM local time when dinner was served. At that time, Trump was seen having a conversation with Weijia Jiang, the President of the White House Correspondents’ Association, and mentalist Oz Pearlman, who was scheduled to present a show at the marquee event at the Washington Hilton here.
Secret Service officials and other security personnel covered the President, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President J D Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, who were seated at the head table, and escorted them out of the ballroom.
“Boom, boom, boom, boom is all that I heard, and many guests ducked under the table,” a C-SPAN reporter at the dinner said.
What did Trump say?
Hours later, Trump addressed a press conference at the White House and announced that the security personnel had captured one person who hails from California.
“I heard a noise and sort of thought it was a tray going down. I’ve heard that many times. It was a pretty loud noise, and it was from quite far away. He [the attacker] hadn’t reached the area at all. They really got him,” Trump told reporters, recalling the incident.
Trump said one security officer was shot at but saved as he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
