The suspect in the shooting incident just outside the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner Saturday night is a trained mechanical engineer working as a tutor who traveled across the country to perpetrate "as much damage as he could," sources and officials said. The shooting, near the main magnetometer area for the event, sparked chaos inside the Hilton hotel ballroom, which was packed with thousands of journalists as well as President Donald Trump and members of his Cabinet. Law enforcement sources identified the suspect as Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, California. Trump, in a news conference after the incident, said the gunman was captured on surveillance video sprinting towards a Secret Service security checkpoint. Local authorities said the suspect was tackled by law enforcement after an exchange of gunfire. Interim D.C. Metropolitan Police Department Chief Jeffrey Carroll told reporters that the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. Carroll said the preliminary information is that he was a "lone actor." https://www.aol.com/news/know-suspect-white-house-correspondents-125800875.html

Admin sources: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/26/technology/white-house-correspondents-dinner-shooting-conspiracy-theories.html, https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/conspiracy-theories-trump-shooting-staged-b2965312.html