"White House Dinner Shooter Was Kind and Quiet"

Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanch (center), FBI Director Cathy Patel (right), and Jenin Pirro, U.S. Attorney for Washington DC (left), held a press conference on the 27th (local time) at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington DC, displaying a photo of the weapon used by the White House dinner shooting suspect, Cole Thomas Allen. Photo by AFP Yonhap News.

Majored in Mechanical Engineering at Caltech, "He was eccentric, but kind and a good person"

People who knew Cole Thomas Allen (31), the shooter involved in the incident in front of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner attended by U.S. President Donald Trump, recalled him as "quiet and kind."

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

Adrian Costantino (31), who attended Caltech with Allen, told the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), "We were all nerds to some extent, but he was especially so. Still, he was always kind and a good person." Another alumnus, Sheila Mershi, also remembered, "He was introverted and quiet, but overall, a really good person." Kevin Tang, who lived in the same dormitory during their undergraduate years, told the Washington Post (WP), "He was a very good person."

News reporters gathered outside the house of Cole Thomas Allen, the shooter at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, on the 27th (local time). Photo by EPA Yonhap News

Fencing team member at college, participated in Bible study and prayer meetings at church fellowship

Allen was a member of his university’s fencing team and also participated in Bible study and prayer meetings at a church fellowship. Elizabeth Turlinden, who engaged in religious activities with him, told the New York Times (NYT), "Allen had a strong faith in evangelical Christianity," adding, "He was unwavering in keeping his faith." The church pastor, Moses Zambazian, also said, "He was a wonderful person as we knew him."

A neighbor in Torrance recalled, "We greeted each other every day. His family was very kind and peaceful." Max Harris, a senior in high school who took private lessons from Allen, told WP, "He seemed like a completely ordinary person. I never thought something like this would happen."

Contrary to these assessments from those around him, Allen meticulously planned the crime. He reportedly purchased a handgun in October 2023 and a shotgun in August last year. Several weeks before the incident, he reserved a room at the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., where the dinner was held. He told his parents he was going for a job interview, then left Los Angeles by train, traveled via Chicago, and checked into the hotel on the 24th.

Donald Trump, former U.S. President, shared on social media (SNS) on the 25th (local time) about the shooting suspect, Cole Thomas Allen, near the White House Correspondents' Dinner event. Truth Social

Trump: "The shooter hates Christians, strongly anti-Christian"

On the night of the 25th, Allen attempted to enter the dinner venue carrying a firearm and a 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 suggested that high-ranking administration officials would be targeted. He has been indicted on charges including assault on a federal official, discharging a firearm, and attempted murder of a federal official.

President Trump, in an interview with CBS in the United States, commented on the shooting incident, saying, "We live in a crazy world." In an interview with Fox News, he added, "If you read his manifesto, it’s clear he hates Christians," and "He harbored deep hatred in his heart for a long time. It was a religious issue. It was strongly anti-Christian."