# Shots fired at White House Correspondents Dinner (Breaking News Thread) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Tags:** breaking-news, trump\ **Created:** [April 26, 2026, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558 "2026-04-26T01:53:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/21 "2026-04-26T03:25:47Z")
Just in on CNN: Suspect was armed with shotgun, handgun and knives. Plus, suspect may have been a guest at the hotel. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/22 "2026-04-26T03:51:05Z")
[He is Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, CA.](https://www.thetimes.com/us/news-today/article/cole-tomas-allen-correspondents-dinner-shooter-white-house-dhslkqwlb) A grad of CalTech with a Masters in engineering and is a school teacher who is 31 yo. > A Cole Tomas Allen appears on California Institute of Technology’s mechanical engineering website page, where he appears to have been a student in about 2017. Public records show a CalTech email address for Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California. > > … > > Allen is reported to have earned a bachelor of science in Computer Science from California State University and a Cole Allen was listed among California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH)'s computer science graduates in the university’s May 2025 commencement program. > > Allen worked as a teacher and was recently named “teacher of the month in Los Angeles County”. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/23 "2026-04-26T04:00:23Z")
Umm, did this all happen inside the venue that the dinner was being held? I’m trying to figure how the fuck the Big Stupid Ball Room would have made anything different. > [@psychobunny](#): > > I know that when I think of Presidents who made seriously impactful changes Garfield, McKinley and Ford are at the top of my list. Ford started the tradition of pardoning former Presidents. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/24 "2026-04-26T04:22:32Z")
The ballroom is in a fancy hotel that has regular guests there also. He was apparently a guest. The security was guarding the ballroom but guests in the other part of the hotel could come and go. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/25 "2026-04-26T04:58:14Z")
> [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Umm, did this all happen inside the venue that the dinner was being held? > I’m trying to figure how the fuck the Big Stupid Ball Room would have made anything different. Yes, it did. As @hajario notes, the dinner was being held at a ballroom at the Washington Hilton, which is still an active hotel, with guests, even during the Correspondents’ Dinner. [As the AP reports](https://apnews.com/article/white-house-correspondents-dinner-trump-first-amendment-a0a2446832e8596e66c6fccb8426c8aa): > [@](#): > > Generally, the Hilton hotel, where the dinner has taken place for years, remains open to regular guests during the correspondents’ dinner, and security has typically been focused on the ballroom and rather than the hotel at large, with little screening for people not entering the dinner itself. In past years, that has created openings for disruptions in the lobby and other public spaces, including protests in which security moved to remove guests who unfurled banners or staged demonstrations. So, yes, it’s actually true that, had this been held at the White House, this particular alleged attack almost undoubtedly could not have occurred, because it would have been extremely unlikely that an attacker could have made it that close to the ballroom without already having gone through security screening. Also, coincidentally, the 1981 assassination attempt against Ronald Reagan occurred as Reagan was leaving the same hotel. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/26 "2026-04-26T14:46:17Z")
There were a lot of government officals and VIP’s in that room. This incident could have been extremely bad. Did I see VP Vance getting his chair yanked back by an agent? Our government could have been decapitated? Losing the President and VP in one incident is scary. I’m relieved it was only one guy. I think several shooters could have gotten past the Secret Service and inside the ballroom. [The Wolf man is back](https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/25/politics/white-house-correspondents-dinner-wolf-blitzer-shots-fired-trump)! Blitzer never misses an opportunity to play up and include himself in a story. I strongly doubt the shooter would waste a bullet on that Prima Donna. There were too many VIP’s to target that actually mattered. > [@](#): > > “I had no idea, as I was hearing the gunshots, who this shooter was aiming at, or if he was just trying to scare everybody,” Blitzer said. “And, of course, the first thing that went through my mind was whether he was going to shoot me.” ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/27 "2026-04-26T15:00:56Z")
I’m willing to bet just about everyone within earshot of the gunman was thinking “is he going to shoot me?”. I know I would be. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/28 "2026-04-26T15:06:38Z")
Given the Right’s hatred of the press, specifically CNN (👋 Wolf), as far as we know right now, the intended target could have the press not Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/29 "2026-04-26T15:48:53Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I’m willing to bet just about everyone within earshot of the gunman was thinking “is he going to shoot me?”. I know I would be. There is video from one of the broadcasts that shows some dude calmly taking a bit of his food while everyone around him is hiding under the tables. I want to know who that guy is. > [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Given the Right’s hatred of the press, specifically CNN (👋 Wolf), as far as we know right now, the intended target could have the press not Trump. Seems very unlikely. The press doesn’t have Secret Service level protection. If someone wanted to go after the press doing it where the President is seems like a bad idea. I’m seeing a lot of online criticism of the secret service. It seems to me like the security worked exactly as it was supposed to. The gunman didn’t get past the perimeter. This is the reality of the president going out in public to a venue that has public guests. ---
**Author:** ![Measure\_for\_Measure](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/measure_for_measure/32/557_2.png) [@Measure\_for\_Measure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Measure_for_Measure)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/30 "2026-04-26T20:07:27Z")
Conflict happened pretty far from the attendees. > **[Josh Marshall (@joshtpm.bsky.social)](https://bsky.app/profile/joshtpm.bsky.social/post/3mkfusz4an22m)** > > This puts the security debate in better perspective. I know this space really well. The guy wasn’t anywhere near the ballroom. He was basically trying to rush the security perimeter and failed. It’s a big complex with lots of different event... [![](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:sgti3jsgu3luif24tokvth3a/bafkreiezbg5pi7ha2ece6vi72g37kk7m3sv42wkohxyr5k4xka6zcykbiq) ](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_fullsize/plain/did:plc:sgti3jsgu3luif24tokvth3a/bafkreiezbg5pi7ha2ece6vi72g37kk7m3sv42wkohxyr5k4xka6zcykbiq) ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/31 "2026-04-26T22:16:47Z")
I interpreted early accounts to say that people in the ballroom heard “several loud noises,” which turned out to be the shots. If the shots were that far away, how could people in the ballroom have heard anything? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/32 "2026-04-26T22:25:07Z")
Because the “loud noises” were gunshots, and gunshots are really loud? ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/33 "2026-04-26T22:38:59Z")
Students, you’ll have a substitute teacher today. Mr. Allen is unavoidably detained. He once won a Teacher of the month award. Link [https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/26/us/white-house-correspondents-dinner-shooter-teacher-invs](https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/26/us/white-house-correspondents-dinner-shooter-teacher-invs) Allen had a tendency to make radical statements as he became involved in left-wing activism in Los Angeles, acquired firearms and began regularly practicing at a firing range, his sister told law enforcement, according to the White House. In recent days, authorities said, that talk turned into action. He boarded a train in Los Angeles and traveled to Chicago and then DC, where he checked into the downtown hotel hosting the annual dinner featuring President Donald Trump and including other top administration officials. ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/34 "2026-04-26T22:44:29Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > In recent days, authorities said, that talk turned into action. He boarded a train in Los Angeles and traveled to Chicago and then DC, where he checked into the downtown hotel hosting the annual dinner featuring President Donald Trump and including other top administration officials. I wonder if the guy took the train just to avoid airport security. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/35 "2026-04-26T22:47:51Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Students, you’ll have a substitute teacher today. Mr. Allen is unavoidably detained. “Does that mean the test is cancelled?” ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/36 "2026-04-26T22:49:58Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I wonder if the guy took the train just to avoid airport security. Makes sense. In _Better Call Saul_, Mike took the train from Philadelphia to Albuquerque after getting shot in the shoulder. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/37 "2026-04-26T23:03:27Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > I wonder if the guy took the train just to avoid airport security. the requirements of transporting weapons and ammunition on Amtrak is as stringent as carrying weapons in checked baggage on commercial flights, including giving Amtrak a minimum of 24 hours advance notice of intent to transport weapons. # Firearms in Checked Baggage Amtrak accepts reservations of firearms and ammunition for carriage between Amtrak stations and on Amtrak trains within the United States that offer checked baggage service and a ticket office. Amtrak Connection bus services are not to be included in this service. The following policies are in effect: - Notification that the passenger will be checking firearms/ammunition must be made no later than 24 hours before train departure by calling Amtrak at 800-USA-RAIL. Online reservations for firearms/ammunition are not accepted. - The passengers must travel on the same train that is transporting the checked firearms and/or ammunition. - All firearms and/or ammunition must be checked at least 30 minutes prior to scheduled train departure. Some larger stations require that baggage be checked earlier. Please contact your departure station for more details. - All firearms (rifles, shotguns, handguns, taser guns, starter pistols) must be unloaded and in an approved, locked hard-sided container not exceeding 62" L x 17" W x 7" D (1575 mm x 432 mm x 178 mm). The passenger must have sole possession of the key or the combination for the lock to the container. The weight of the container may not exceed 50 lbs/23 kg. - Smaller locked, hard-sided containers containing smaller unloaded firearms such as handguns, taser guns and starter pistols must be securely stored within a suitcase or other item of checked baggage, but the existence of such a firearm must be declared. - All ammunition carried must be securely packed in the original manufacturer’s container; in fiber, wood, or metal boxes; or in other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition. The maximum weight of all ammunition and containers may not exceed 11 lbs/5 kg. - The passenger is responsible for knowing and following all federal, state, and local firearm laws at all jurisdictions to and through which he or she will be traveling. - All other Amtrak checked baggage policies apply, including limits on the number of pieces of checked baggage, the maximum weight of each piece (50 lbs/23 kg). - Firearms/ammunition may not be carried in carry-on baggage; therefore, checked baggage must be available on all trains and at all stations in the passenger’s itinerary. - At the time of check-in, passengers will be required to complete and sign a two-part Declaration Form. - BB guns and Compressed Air Guns (to include paintball markers), are to be treated as firearms and must comply with the above firearms policy. Canisters, tanks, or other devices containing propellants must be emptied prior to checking and securely packaged within the contents of the passenger’s luggage. Passengers failing to meet the above-mentioned requirements for checking firearms will be denied transportation. To inquire about or begin the firearms reservation process, use the [Contact Us](https://www.amtrak.com/contact-us) page and select “Checked Firearms Program” as the subject and follow guidance. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/38 "2026-04-26T23:46:11Z")
The requirements are the same, but is the enforcement? It’s been a while since I’ve traveled by train, but at the time, there was basically no security, while there was plenty at airports. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2026, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/39 "2026-04-26T23:50:21Z")
I have taken the Amtrak from Santa Barbara to Solana Beach (San Diego) and back many times, most recently 2.5 years ago. I have never seen any sort of security. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2026, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558/40 "2026-04-27T01:03:55Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > There is video from one of the broadcasts that shows some dude calmly taking a bit of his food while everyone around him is hiding under the tables. I want to know who that guy is. [The New York Times identified him as Michael Glantz](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/26/us/politics/man-salad-white-house-correspondents-dinner.html), an agent with Creative Artists Agency. He said that he wasn’t afraid because of the large number of Secret Service agents, and also that because of a bad back, he wouldn’t be able to easily get under the table (or back up). “And No. 2, I’m a hygiene freak. There was no freaking way I was getting in my new tux on the dirty Hilton floor. It was not happening.” And note that he was eating a burrata salad. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/shots-fired-at-white-house-correspondents-dinner-breaking-news-thread/1029558.md?page=3)