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The suspected White House Correspondents’ Dinner gunman was targeting Trump administration officials when he attempted to storm past Secret Service agents and into the packed ballroom Saturday night, according to a report.
Cole Allen, 31, told police he was going after “administration officials” at the press gala inside the Washington Hilton hotel in Washington, DC, but didn’t specify who he was seeking or if President Trump was included, CBS News reported, citing sources.
Allen, a teacher from Torrance, Calif., was identified by sources as the suspect accused of rushing a security checkpoint armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives before he was subdued.
The shooting erupted just after 8:30 p.m., about 20 minutes after Trump and first lady Melania Trump had just made their grand entrance onto the dais.
Officials have not revealed a possible motive behind the shooting.
Trump said he didn’t believe the gunman’s attack was related to the ongoing US-Israeli war in Iran.
“It’s not going to deter me from winning the war in Iran. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it. I really don’t think so, based on what we know,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Saturday evening.
A Secret Service agent was shot in the vest during the gunfire.
The unidentified agent was rushed to a hospital and is in “great spirits,” Trump said during a press conference at the White House Saturday night.
Allen, a CalTech grad, has been charged with using a firearm during a crime of violence and with assault of a federal officer, Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for the District of Columbia, said Saturday.
The crazed gunman attempted to barge into the ballroom of approximately 2,500 people, which included the first couple, Vice President JD Vance, Trump cabinet members and journalists.
Secret Service agents whisked away the president and first lady as other guests took cover underneath their tables.
The shooter — blasted by Trump as a “sick” individual – was swiftly taken down in the lobby by the Secret Service.
He was hauled off from the hotel in the back of an ambulance.
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