The man suspected of opening fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner has been identified as Cole Thomas Allen, a 31-year-old resident of Torrance, a suburb of Los Angeles. He worked as a part-time tutor and video game developer.
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Law enforcement officials said Allen has no prior criminal record. Following his arrest, he reportedly told police he intended to target officials from the Trump administration, according to CBS News on Sunday.
His LinkedIn profile shows him in a cap and gown after earning a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Allen also obtained a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2017 from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. During his time there, he was involved in a Christian student fellowship and a campus group that engaged in Nerf gun activities.
Bin Tang, a computer science professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills, told The Associated Press that Allen had taken several of his classes prior to graduating.
“He was a very good student indeed, always sitting in the front row of my class, paying attention, and frequently emailing me with questions about coursework. Soft-spoken, very polite—a good fellow. I am very shocked to see the news,” Tang said in an email.
A local ABC station in Los Angeles previously interviewed Allen during his senior year as part of a report on emerging technologies designed to assist the elderly. He had developed a prototype for a new type of emergency brake for wheelchairs.
Federal campaign finance records show that Allen donated $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee supporting Kamala Harris in 2024.
According to his online résumé, Allen worked for the past six years at C2 Education, a company that provides admissions counseling and test preparation services to prospective college students. A 2024 Facebook post by the company recognized him as “Teacher of the Month.” The company has not yet responded to requests for comment.
Allen also stated that he developed a video game for the Steam platform focused on molecular chemistry. Another post under his name indicated he was working on a new “top-down shooter” game set in outer space.
NBC News cited a former high school volleyball teammate who described Allen as a “borderline genius” and “super stable.”
“Other people study hard,” the former teammate said, speaking anonymously out of concern for his career. “He didn’t have to study. It would just come to him. He was really, really smart.”
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