Armed Man Stormed a White House Press Dinner Checkpoint

Members of the National Guard patrol after an incident at the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 25.Photographer: Nathan Howard/Getty Images

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By Myles Miller and María Paula Mijares Torres

April 26, 2026 at 3:47 AM UTC

Updated on

April 26, 2026 at 4:09 AM UTC

A man carrying a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives charged a Secret Service checkpoint at the Washington Hilton Saturday night, wounding a federal officer and forcing President Donald Trump and members of his cabinet to flee the ballroom of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

The suspect, identified by a US official as a 31-year-old man named Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was apprehended after exchanging gunfire with Secret Service agents in the hotel lobby, steps from a ballroom packed with thousands of guests, according to law enforcement.