"A Quiet and Kind Person"... The Double Life of the White House Dinner Shooter

White House Dinner Gunman Cole Thomas Allen
Acquaintances: "Shy and Introverted, We Had No Idea"
Trump: "A Crazy World, Deeply Anti-Christian Figure"

Those who knew Cole Thomas Allen, 31, who carried out the shooting in front of the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner attended by U.S. President Donald Trump, remembered him as "a quiet and kind person."

U.S. President Donald Trump shared on social media on the 25th (local time) an image of Cole Thomas Allen, the suspect in the shooting incident near the White House press corps dinner event. Truth Social

According to Yonhap News and foreign media reports on April 28, Allen was originally from Torrance, California, majored in mechanical engineering at the prestigious California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and reportedly received his master's degree in computer engineering from California State University, Dominguez Hills last year.

Adrian Costantino, 31, a classmate from Caltech, told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), "We were all nerds to some extent, but he was especially so. Still, he was always warm and a good person." Alumna Sheila Mercy also remembered, "He was introverted and quiet, but overall, he was truly a good person." Kevin Tang, who lived in the same dormitory during their undergraduate years, told The Washington Post (WP), "He was a really good guy."

Allen was involved in the university fencing team and reportedly took part in church fellowship groups, including Bible study and prayer meetings. Elizabeth Turlinden, who participated in religious activities with him, told the New York Times (NYT), "(Allen) was a person of strong evangelical Christian faith," adding, "He had no hesitation in upholding his beliefs." Moses Zambazian, the church pastor, also said, "The person we knew was a wonderful individual."

A neighbor from Torrance recalled, "We saw each other every day and exchanged greetings; they were a very kind and peaceful family." Max Harris, a high school senior who received tutoring from Allen, told the WP, "He seemed like a completely ordinary person in every way. I never expected something like this to happen."

U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo by AP Yonhap News

Contrary to those around him, Allen meticulously planned the crime. He reportedly purchased a handgun in October 2023 and a shotgun in August of last year. Weeks before the incident, he reserved a room at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., where the dinner was being held, telling his parents he was going for a job interview, and left Los Angeles by train, passing through Chicago before checking into the hotel on the 24th.

On the night of the 25th, he attempted to enter the dinner venue with firearms and a bladed weapon, but was subdued by Secret Service (SS) agents. In a statement sent to his family just before the crime, he described President Trump as a criminal and implied that senior administration officials would be targeted. He has been charged with assaulting a federal official, discharging a firearm, and attempted murder of a federal official.

President Trump commented on the shooting in an interview with CBS, stating, "We are living in a crazy world." He also said in an interview with Fox News, "If you read his manifesto, it's clear that he hates Christians," adding, "He harbored deep hatred in his heart for a long time. It was a religious issue. It was strongly anti-Christian."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.