Story perspectives

Gunman Attacks White House Dinner, Officer Wounded, Trump Evacuated

4/28/2026

Summary

Story summary

Cole Tomas Allen opened fire with a shotgun, handgun and knives at the Washington Hilton White House Correspondents’ Dinner, forcing the evacuation of U.S. President Donald Trump.
A Secret Service officer was shot in the chest but survived because his bullet-proof vest stopped the bullet.
Allen was apprehended near the checkpoint, ordered detained by a judge on attempted-assassination and firearms charges, and prompted a White House security review.

History

Historical Context

On March 30 1981, John Hinckley Jr. fired six rounds at President Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton, wounding the president, press secretary James Brady and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy. The attack exposed gaps in the Secret Service’s layered screening and spurred nationwide reviews that instituted stricter venue checks and expanded protective protocols still in force today.

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Story summary

Cole Tomas Allen opened fire with a shotgun, handgun and knives at the Washington Hilton White House Correspondents’ Dinner, forcing the evacuation of U.S. President Donald Trump.
A Secret Service officer was shot in the chest but survived because his bullet-proof vest stopped the bullet.
Allen was apprehended near the checkpoint, ordered detained by a judge on attempted-assassination and firearms charges, and prompted a White House security review.

1 / 2