San Diego Congressmembers react to WHCD shooting incident

Some members of the San Diego congressional delegation are speaking out about the violence at last night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where a 31-year-old Torrance man is accused of trying to storm the gala armed with guns and knives.

Cole Tomas Allen was arrested after allegedly shooting a U.S. Secret Service officer at the Washington Hilton, where President Donald Trump was waiting to address the annual gathering. Allen is reported to have sent family members a manifesto railing against the Trump administration shortly before Saturday night’s disruption.

He was tentatively scheduled to be arraigned Monday and is facing two preliminary charges for using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Bonsal, was at the dinner and posted on X after the shooting.

“This is the reality of what @realDonaldTrump faces every day — and for years before that. This is a man of uncommon courage,” Issa wrote. “I was there at the event tonight. And I’ll be there again or anywhere else to support this president.”

Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, also posted on X. She was not in attendance at the dinner.

“I’m glad that everyone is safe at the White House Correspondents Dinner tonight,” Jacobs said. “Thank you to law enforcement and first responders for acting so swiftly and courageously.”

The shooting occurred shortly in a ballroom of the hotel. Security video showed a man attempting to sprint past the security checkpoint, prompting several officers to draw their weapons. U.S. Secret Service agents rushed Trump and first lady Melania Trump out of the hotel and back to the White House. Vice President JD Vance was also rushed out.

Neither the president or vice president was injured. One law enforcement officer was shot but was wearing a bullet-proof vest and is expected to be OK, according to multiple media reports.

Authorities said Allen was registered as a guest of the hotel and that his room was searched. His parents’ Torrance home, where Allen reportedly lived, was also searched.

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said authorities believe “that the suspect traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then Chicago to Washington, D.C., where he checked into the hotel where the Correspondents’ Dinner was at in the last day or two.”

Allen was carrying a “shotgun, handgun and multiple knives,” according to Interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll, who said that although the suspect was not struck by gunfire, he was nevertheless taken to a hospital to be evaluated.

Investigations by the Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington, D.C. were continuing Sunday.

According to multiple media reports, Allen sent a message to his family members about 10 minutes before the disruption at the Correspondents’ Dinner, calling himself the “Friendly Federal Assassin” and stating that he was trying to kill members of the administration.

“Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I’m not the person raped in a detention camp. I’m not the fisherman executed without trial. I’m not a schoolkid blown up or a child starved or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration,” Allen wrote, according to the California Post. “Turning the other cheek when `someone else’ is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes.”

He allegedly said his targets Saturday night included “Administration officials … they are targets, prioritized from highest-ranking to lowest. I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”

Citing his LinkedIn profile, Wired magazine reported that Allen has been employed part-time since March 2020 at Torrance-based C2 Education, a private company that prepares students for college entrance exams. C2 Education provides “tutoring, test prep and college counseling,” according to its website. It also named Allen on its social media accounts as Teacher of the Month in December 2024 at C2 Education.

Allen graduated from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, Pasadena Now reported. Officials at Cal State Dominguez Hills issued a statement late Saturday confirming that he graduated from the university last year, reportedly with a degree in computer science.

Shortly after being evacuated from the ballroom, Trump posted on X: “Quite an evening in D.C. Secret Service and law enforcement did a fantastic job … The shooter has been apprehended.” He said he recommended that the show go on but it was up to law enforcement, and the dinner was canceled.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X to say he was “relieved everyone at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner is safe tonight based on initial reports. A free press is foundational to our country. Violence is never acceptable.”

California Republican Party Chairwoman Corrin Rankin also issued a statement, condemning repeated instances of politically related violence.

“The attempted assassination of President Trump and mass shooting [near] other guests at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was a terrible act of violence,” Rankin said. “This violence must stop now. Democrats must end their violent rhetoric; their words have consequences and are causing real harm.

“Quite an evening in D.C.,” Trump wrote on X. “Secret Service and law enforcement did a fantastic job.” He said he recommended that the show go on but it was up to law enforcement, and the dinner was canceled.

After being returned to the White House, Trump stood behind a podium and made a public address before taking questions. Among his comments, he said he saw “a tremendous amount of love and coming together” in the ballroom when the shots were first heard.

“It’s a dangerous profession,” he said about the job.

Asked why he feels he has been the target of multiple apparent assassination attempts, he said, “The people that do the most … make the biggest impact … they go after them,” he said. “I hate to say I’m honored by that.”

Trump was expected to speak further about the case on CBS’ “60 Minutes” Sunday night.