OAN Staff Addie Davis
11:23 AM – Wednesday, April 29, 2026
The Department of Justice (DOJ) released a mirror selfie of suspected shooter Cole Tomas Allen taken roughly 30 minutes prior to the attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (WHCD) on Saturday.
On Saturday evening, Allen — a registered guest at the Washington Hilton — purportedly armed himself with firearms and knives and breached a security checkpoint during the WHCD.
Although shots were fired before his apprehension, Allen was intercepted before reaching the ballroom where the event was underway.
In a detention memo, provided by ABC-affiliated KTXS 12 and filed by the DOJ on Wednesday, the photo taken by the shooting suspect is shown. Allen can be seen wearing black pants, a black shirt and a red tie, and he appears to be smirking.
According to the court filing, the defendant is seen equipped with various weapons and tactical gear in the photograph, including:
- a small bag that appears to be the same ammunition-filled bag later recovered from Allen
- a shoulder holster
- a sheathed knife
- pliers and wire cutters
The memo also provided pictures of weapons possessed by Allen when he was arrested, which included two firearms: a “12-gauge pump-action shotgun” and a “.38 caliber pistol.”
Following his indictment for the attempted assassination of the president, Allen now faces life imprisonment. To mitigate the risks associated with such high-stakes charges, the court filing formally seeks his pretrial detention without bond.
“The defendant’s actions were premeditated, violent, and calculated to cause death,” the filing stated. “Considering the relevant statutory factors, there is no condition or combination of conditions that will reasonably assure the safety of other people or the community if the defendant were released from custody,” it asserted.
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