Story perspectives

Shotgun-Wielding Intruder Fires at White House Dinner, Officer Injured

4/30/2026

Summary

Story summary

Cole Tomas Allen attempted breach of White House Correspondents’ dinner, firing a shotgun that wounded a Service officer.
Allen photographed himself in his Washington Hilton room before the dinner, holding a shotgun, knife and ammunition bag.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro called the act an attempted assassination and warned a conviction could carry imprisonment.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said rhetoric from the president’s opponents fuels such violence and must end.

History

Historical Context

Samuel Byck’s February 22 1974 attempt to hijack a Delta DC-9 and crash it into the White House, which killed two airline staff, followed a decade of rising hijackings that prompted President Nixon’s 1970 sky-marshal program and the FAA’s 1973 passenger-screening rules. Those measures shaped the security framework that confronted the 2024 Washington Hilton threat.

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Story summary

Cole Tomas Allen attempted breach of White House Correspondents’ dinner, firing a shotgun that wounded a Service officer.
Allen photographed himself in his Washington Hilton room before the dinner, holding a shotgun, knife and ammunition bag.
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro called the act an attempted assassination and warned a conviction could carry imprisonment.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said rhetoric from the president’s opponents fuels such violence and must end.

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