What we know about the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
Consider This from NPR
NPR
4.2 • 6.2K Ratings
🗓️ 26 April 2026
⏱️ 13 minutes
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Summary
Two sources familiar with the matter say Cole Allen has been identified as the alleged gunman, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC's Meet the Press that Allen is believed to have been targeting administration officials.
The incident shocked Washington — and led to the safe evacuation from the scene of the president, much of his Cabinet, and members of Congress.
NPR’s Danielle Kurtzleben and Ryan Lucas have more on the investigation into the shooting, while reporter Steve Futterman learned more about the suspect in his suburban-Los Angeles hometown.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | NPR's Franco Ordonez was in the room when it happened. |
| 0:03.3 | The dinner had just started. |
| 0:05.6 | I mean, they just presented the colors |
| 0:07.2 | and the star-spangled banner had just been played. |
| 0:10.2 | The scene? The 2026 White House correspondence dinner. |
| 0:13.6 | Media types, Trump administration officials and other guests |
| 0:16.1 | were at the Washington Hilton that evening |
| 0:17.8 | for an annual event that raises money |
| 0:19.5 | for the press corps organization that covers the president. |
| 0:23.6 | Trump was minutes away from speaking when shots were fired near the ballroom entrance. |
| 0:29.9 | The waitstaff was really just starting to clear the salad plates when we heard this bang, bang, bang. |
| 0:36.2 | An armed man had rushed past security personnel outside of the ballroom. |
| 0:40.1 | And then it was just a bit of a scream and then crashing of tables as all the guests were |
| 0:45.3 | literally just hitting the floor, going over tables, going over chairs. |
| 0:50.5 | Secret Service quickly escorted President Trump and other senior officials out of the ballroom, |
| 0:55.0 | and Trump held a press briefing just after the shooting unfolded. |
| 0:58.1 | I didn't want to say this, but this is why we have to have all of the attributes of what |
| 1:04.5 | we're planning at the White House. |
| 1:06.5 | It's actually a larger room, and it's much more secure. |
| 1:09.8 | It's drone-proof, it's bullet more secure. It's got, it's drone proof, it's bulletproof |
| 1:12.4 | glass. We need the ballroom. Consider this. The first ever White House correspondence dinner |
| 1:17.6 | attended by Donald Trump as president is the first ever to be called off by a gunman breaching |
... |
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