Secret Service officer saved after phone stops bullet at White House Correspondents' Dinner

The Secret Service officer who was shot during the White House Correspondents' dinner had his life saved when his mobile phone stopped the bullet, according to a report. The officer, whose identity has not been disclosed, was discharged from hospital earlier today following the terrifying incident at the Washington Hilton. Video footage captures the moment a gunman charged a Secret Service magnetometer screening area in the hotel lobby. He discharged at least one shot, hitting a Secret Service agent's bulletproof vest. Remarkably, according to a law enforcement summary report, seen by the Atlantic, the bullet was stopped, in part, by the officer's mobile phone. Anthony Gugliemi, the US Secret Service chief of communications, said the protective equipment likely "helped us avoid a potential tragedy." Cole Tomas Allen, 31, has been identified as the suspect after shots were heard outside a ballroom containing 2,500 people - including Donald Trump , Melania Trump and JD Vance - for the annual dinner. The US President described the suspect as a "lone wolf whack job" after the incident around 8:35pm local time (01:35am UK time) on Saturday night, at the Washington Hilton hotel. Allen was carrying a 12-gauge shotgun, a .38-caliber handgun, and multiple knives. Officials recovered an "anti-Christian" manifesto sent to family members shortly before the attack, in which Allen referred to himself as the "Friendly Federal Assassin Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed that initial findings indicate Allen had been targeting administration officials, with the President likely amongst those in his sights. Allen graduated from the prestigious California Institute of Technology in 2017 with a degree in mechanical engineering. His LinkedIn profile disclosed that he had been a member of the university's Christian fellowship as well as the NERF club. NERF guns are toy weapons that fire soft darts, arrows and balls, widely popular with children but also enjoyed by many adults. Allen was a member of the Caltech NERF group during his student days in the early 2010s. Allen is due to appear before a federal court on Monday, facing charges including assault on a federal officer, discharging a firearm, and potentially attempted assassination.