Who Is Cole Tomas Allen? Peers Describe Shock After White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting Suspect Named

BreakingBusinessWho Is Cole Tomas Allen? Peers Describe Shock After White House Correspondents’ Dinner Shooting Suspect NamedByMary Whitfill Roeloffs,Forbes Staff. Mary Roeloffs is a Forbes breaking news reporter covering pop culture.Follow AuthorApr 27, 2026, 02:01pm EDTApr 27, 2026, 02:01pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.ToplineThe emerging portrait of the man accused of opening fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner moments after sending a manifesto railing against the Trump administration, 31-year-old California math tutor Cole Tomas Allen, is of a high-performing academic “on the nicer, quiet side.” President Donald Trump posted this photo of shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen on Truth Social. Truth SocialKey FactsAllen, who is expected to make a first appearance in federal court Monday, is accused of firing shots while trying to charge past a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night, where President Donald Trump and much of his presidential Cabinet were attending a dinner with journalists.A California Institute of Technology classmate of Allen’s, Adrian Costantino, told the Wall Street Journal he was “a little autistic” and “even more nerdy” than his peers, but remembered him as “always nice and kind to people.” A pastor at the church he attended while in school, the United Reformed Church in Pasadena, told the Journal those at the parish are "as confused as everyone else," adding, “It’s one of those classic cases where everything we knew about him was he was a great guy.”Another member of the congregation said he was "flabbergasted" to learn Allen was connected to the attack: "The talent he had, he probably could have lived a full, enjoyable, healthy life and done wondrous things for himself and other people, and he blew it.”Students Allen tutored in biology, math and science were “completely shocked” to hear ab...