What we know about Cole Allen, suspected White House Correspondents' dinner shooter

A view of a home associated with the suspected White House Correspondents' Dinner shooter Cole Tomas Allen in Torrance, California, on April 26, 2026. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via hide caption toggle caption Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Cole Allen, a 31-year old teacher and engineer from Torrance, California, has been identified as the man suspected of opening fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner Saturday night, two sources familiar with the matter told NPR. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. Allen describes himself on LinkedIn as a "mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth." He got a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from CalTech in 2017 and a master's degree in computer science from California State University Dominguez Hills last May. According to his LinkedIn, Allen worked as a part-time teacher at C2 Education, a tutoring service that offers testing prep for high school students. He received a "teacher of the month" award from the company in December 2024. 17-year-old Jason was one of the students Allen tutored. He said that in the few sessions he had with him, he was a good teacher and called him a "smart guy". NPR is identifying Jason only by his first name because he's a minor. "You wouldn't expect him to be plotting some crazy, evil plan to kill the president," Jason said. …