Who shot the Secret Service agent, protected by his bulletproof vest, during the intrusion of an armed man last Saturday on the sidelines of the press gala in Washington? Nearly a week after the incident that caused panic in the United States, doubts remain.
To try to dispel them, the authorities released an enhanced version of the surveillance video images, which show Cole Tomas Allen, the 31-year-old American who wanted to target Donald Trump and other members of the administration, running through security checks in the basement of the Washington Hilton hotel.
A little later on Thursday, the suspect’s lawyers had indicated that their client was probably not the shooter, since no image could establish it with certainty. The responsibility for this shot that hit a Secret Service agent will be important, particularly in the charges brought against the suspect and the potential sentence.
Serious security flaws
We need to go back to those few seconds, at 8:30 pm on Saturday night, when this man managed to breach security, to understand the responsibilities of everyone involved. The surveillance video images released yesterday seem to show that it was entirely possible that Cole Tomas Allen shot at an officer: during his run, he appears to point his weapon towards an officer.
But the video posted by the federal prosecutor of Washington raises other questions: it shows an officer, with a dog on a leash, checking the area where Cole Tomas Allen is, behind a door, and moving away just as the man decides to rush towards the human barricade of law enforcement.
Another troubling element: Secret Service agents appear to be dismantling some equipment as Cole Allen runs by. One of the security gates is knocked down by a police officer. Authorities indicated that it was “malfunctioning”. The dinner, in the ballroom a little further away, had started about fifteen minutes ago: did the agents think there was no longer any risk?
The suspect not hit by law enforcement
On Wednesday, the judicial authorities of the American capital described the unfolding of the scene in the indictment. “Your client fired with his Mossberg 12-gauge pump-action shotgun at least once,” said deputy federal prosecutor Jocelyn Ballantine to the defense lawyers, in a memo included in the file.
Investigators also found that the shotgun contained a fired cartridge in the chamber. The deputy prosecutor mentioned “a recovered fragment whose characteristics match”, and highlighted the testimony of a Secret Service agent who saw the suspect shoot in his direction.
None of the five shots fired by the Secret Service agents hit the suspect. “He collapsed on the ground, was subdued by law enforcement, and was placed under arrest,” said the memo compiled by the prosecution. “The defendant suffered a minor injury to the knee, but was not hit by a bullet.”
On April 6, he searches on his phone
The indictment also reveals some details about the preparation of the attack. It is learned that Cole Tomas Allen began planning his assault several weeks in advance. As early as April 6, he searched the Internet browser on his cell phone for the date and location of the White House correspondents’ dinner. 90 minutes later, he reserved a hotel room at the Washington Hilton. On April 21, four days before the event, he booked a train ticket that would take him across the country.
During this long journey (3 days), he spent his time reading information about the press gala and writing his thoughts about the country, which passed before his eyes. He noted “the windmills that rise like snow-capped mountains” in the New Mexico desert, spoke highly of Chicago, “a small town in Iowa that had been expanded to the scale of Los Angeles”, and compared the forests of Pennsylvania to “vast enchanting landscapes, filled with tiny murmuring streams in the spring.”
The indictment finally lists the assailant’s weapons: a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun acquired in August 2025, a .38 caliber pistol purchased in October 2023, as well as additional magazines and cartridges.
His lawyers noted that he did not carry automatic or semi-automatic weapons, “the hallmark of contemporary mass shootings”, and that he used buckshot to “minimize losses”, as written in the letters he left behind. Not sure if this will be enough to mitigate his case: he is charged with attempting to kill the President of the United States.
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