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WASHINGTON (KABC) -- The antheral accused of charging a information checkpoint astatine the White House Correspondents Association Dinner connected Saturday night, firing astatine a Secret Service agent, is from Southern California, ABC News has learned.
The suspected shooter was identified arsenic 31-year-old Cole Allen of Torrance, California, ABC News confirmed. He is successful custody.
The incidental sparked chaos wrong the ballroom earlier Allen was subdued by instrumentality enforcement.
Trump posted a video showing agents taking down the suspect, who helium said "charged a information checkpoint equipped with galore weapons."
"He started moving from 50 yards, and helium was fast. He was similar a blur connected tape," Trump said of the suspect.
In different station connected Truth Social, Trump shared photos of the alleged shooter face-down connected the crushed aft being apprehended.
Law enforcement detains a fishy successful the shooting astatine the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, successful Washington, April 25, 2026.
@realDonaldTrump/Truth Social
As agents engaged with the suspect, a chaotic country unfolded wrong the Washington Hilton edifice ballroom. Officers successful tactical cogwheel with agelong guns jumped implicit tables, brandishing their weapons arsenic the president and different dignitaries, specified arsenic Vice President JD Vance, were rushed from the stage.
Attendees ducked nether their tables.
"It is ever shocking erstwhile thing similar this happens," Trump told reporters astatine a property briefing from the White House aboriginal Saturday night.
The shooting incidental took spot adjacent the main magnetometer screening country astatine the White House Correspondents' Dinner, according to the Secret Service.
During the property briefing, Trump said that a Secret Service subordinate was shot, but the slug deed the agent's protective vest. The president said helium spoke with the agent, and helium was successful bully spirits.
"I told him we emotion him and respect him and he's a precise arrogant guy," helium said.
Law enforcement is continuing to behaviour the investigation. Trump confirmed that the fishy was a California resident.
Saturday was the archetypal correspondents' meal that Trump had attended arsenic president. He was scheduled to speak.
The meal was underway, and Trump, the archetypal woman and different dignitaries were sitting astatine the main array and White House Correspondents' Association President Weijia Jiang was chatting with the dinner's big Oz Pearlman, erstwhile immoderate attendees said they heard respective large bangs soon aft 8:30 p.m. ET.
Several lawmakers wrong the country described the tense scene.
In a societal media post, Trump praised the Secret Service for their work.
"Quite an evening successful D.C. Secret Service and Law Enforcement did a fantastic job. They acted rapidly and bravely," helium said.
In a aboriginal post, Trump said instrumentality enforcement requested attendees permission the premises and the meal would beryllium rescheduled wrong 30 days.
"We precise overmuch wanted to proceed it, due to the fact that I don't privation to fto these sick people, these thugs alteration the cloth of our lives, alteration what we do," Trump told reporters.
Jiang initially told the assemblage astatine the Washington Hilton ballroom that the programme would proceed however, she aboriginal told the assemblage that they had to leave.
"I said earlier contiguous that journalism is simply a nationalist work due to the fact that erstwhile determination is an emergency, we tally to the crisis, not distant from it," she told the crowd.
"And connected a nighttime erstwhile we are reasoning astir the freedoms successful the First Amendment, we indispensable besides deliberation astir however fragile they are. I saw each of you reporting, and that's what we do," Jiang added.
ABC News contributed to this report.
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