A Secret Service agent attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was “conclusively” struck by the suspect’s bullet, prosecutors announced.
Published May 3, 2026
U.S. authorities have announced that the gunman who shot and killed a Secret Service agent at a White House Correspondents’ Dinner last month is the suspect charged with attempting to kill President Donald Trump.
Authorities initially did not provide details about how the agent, who was wearing a bulletproof vest, was injured. On Sunday, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro told CNN that investigators confirmed that the agent was shot and killed by the alleged gunman, Cole Thomas Allen.
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“This was definitely his bullet. He hit that Secret Service agent. He was on his way to killing the president of the United States, intending to kill himself and anyone who got in his way,” Pirro said.
“This was a premeditated, violent act, designed to take out the president and everyone in his line of fire.”
She added that bullets from the suspect’s shotgun were “entangled in the fibers” of the agent’s protective vest.
The decision could lead to additional legal charges against the 31-year-old suspect. It also rules out speculation that the agent may have been hit by so-called “friendly fire.”
The Justice Department last week announced three charges against Allen: attempted assassination of Trump, transporting a firearm across state lines with intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
Those convicted of attempted assassination face life imprisonment.
Last week, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Allen traveled by train from his home near Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington, D.C.
He arrived in the US capital and checked in on April 24, the day before a dinner party at the Washington Hilton Hotel.
During the dinner, Blanche said, Allen approached a security checkpoint on the hotel’s terrace, one floor above the ballroom where Trump was present.
“He walked through the magnetometer with a long gun, and that’s when the U.S. Secret Service agent assigned to the checkpoint heard a loud gunshot,” Blanche said.
“One of the Secret Service agents was shot in the chest, but he was wearing a bulletproof vest and it worked. This heroic agent who was shot fired five shots at Allen, who was not shot, but fell to the ground and was quickly arrested.”
Officials said Allen was in possession of a shotgun, a semi-automatic handgun and three knives.
This shooting incident is believed to be the third assassination attempt on Trump since 2024, and has shaken US politics. The White House has accused the US president’s Democratic rivals of inciting political violence with verbal attacks against the administration.
But Trump himself is known for personal attacks on his opponents, and critics have accused him of using the shooting to censor his rivals.
