What is known about suspect in press gala shooting

April 27, 2026

Summary

Authorities said Cole Tomas Allen, arrested in the Washington shooting, was a California tutor and recent computer science graduate.

Why this matters

The case offers an early profile of the suspect as investigators work to establish motive and reconstruct the events surrounding a high-profile shooting in Washington. It also highlights the personal, political, and legal records investigators are examining after the attack.

Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old from Torrance, California, was arrested in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner Saturday night in Washington, according to law enforcement officials.

Allen graduated last year with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills, according to a photo and profile posted on LinkedIn. His LinkedIn profile also said he earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2017.

In writings sent to family members minutes before the attack, Allen described himself as “Friendly Federal Assassin” and criticized actions taken by the U.S. government under President Donald Trump, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly.

According to a manifesto published by the New York Post, Allen apologized to “everyone whose trust I abused” and to other “non-targeted people.” The manifesto did not name Trump, but Allen wrote that he was “no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”

California voter registration records listed his address as his parents’ home in Torrance. Public records showed he was the oldest of four adult siblings.

Federal campaign finance records showed Allen contributed $25 to a Democratic Party political action committee supporting Kamala Harris in 2024. A yard sign at the family home supported a local judicial candidate endorsed by the Los Angeles County Democratic Party.

Law enforcement officials said Allen legally bought a .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol in October 2023 and a 12-gauge shotgun last year.

Bin Tang, a computer science professor at California State University, Dominguez Hills, said Allen was “a very good student indeed, always sitting in the first row of my class, paying attention, and frequently emailing me with coursework questions. Soft-spoken, very polite, a good fellow. I am very shocked to see the news.”

Allen’s online resume said he worked for six years at C2 Education, a tutoring and admissions counseling company. A 2024 company Facebook post named him teacher of the month. He also posted that he developed a video game for the Steam platform and was working on another combat game set in outer space.

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US

Conspiracy theories spread after dinner shooting

By midday Sunday, the term “staged” had appeared in more than 300,000 posts on X, according to social media analytics firm TweetBinder.

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Social media users across the political spectrum shared unsupported claims after a gunman’s thwarted attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, with many posts alleging the incident was “staged.”

Some users claimed, without evidence, that President Donald Trump had fabricated the shooting to distract from his approval ratings or the Iran war. Others said, also without evidence, that it was intended to build support for plans for a White House ballroom.

Trump mentioned the ballroom at a news conference after the incident, saying it showed the importance of building it. He also referenced it on Truth Social the next morning. Several Trump allies on social media also promoted the need for a new ballroom, prompting some users to cite the rapid response as evidence of coordination.

Several video clips circulated widely online after the dinner and fueled more speculation.

In one Fox News interview before the gala, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said of Trump’s upcoming speech, “there will be shots fired tonight in the room.”

Other users questioned video showing Vice President JD Vance being escorted to safety before Secret Service agents reached Trump, asking why the vice president was secured first.
World Politics

Reports say U.S. limited North Korea intel to Seoul

Seoul, Washington did not confirm reports that the U.S. curtailed some intelligence sharing after remarks about a North Korean nuclear site.

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The United States limited some intelligence sharing with South Korea after a South Korean minister publicly cited the location of a North Korean uranium enrichment site, according to several media reports.

South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young cited North Korea’s Kusong region as the site of a uranium enrichment facility during a National Assembly committee meeting on March 6, according to a YouTube video of the meeting.

South Korea’s Defense Intelligence Agency said April 21 that details of the facility were a classified “joint secret” of the U.S. and South Korea, according to National Assembly Rep. Lim Jong-deuk’s office. Lim is a member of the assembly’s National Defense Committee.

The U.S. then reduced South Korea’s access to intelligence on North Korea’s nuclear sites. The report said the limits did not immediately affect South Korea’s intelligence-gathering capabilities, citing unnamed military officials who pointed to real-time coordination during North Korean missile launches in March and April.

Chung denied disclosing classified information and said his remarks were based on publicly available information. He told reporters last week that the situation was being framed as a leak, according to a video of the briefing.

Officials in Seoul and Washington did not confirm the report. A South Korean Defense Ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday that Seoul and Washington “communicate closely and frequently on major issues” and that the sharing of information on military readiness “is functioning properly.”

“Specific, real-time disclosure of the status of information sharing between South Korea and the U.S. in particular fields is entirely detrimental to our national security and the [South Korea]-U.S. alliance,” spokeswoman Chung Binna said, according to a ministry transcript.
California, US Politics

California Pipeline Dispute Tests State, Federal Power

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Crude oil from the Pacific Ocean is flowing for the first time in more than a decade through a pipeline that crosses Gaviota State Park after the Trump administration ordered a restart of drilling off Santa Barbara, citing national security.

California officials say Sable Offshore Corp. is trespassing on state land and asked a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge at a Monday hearing to order the company to stop using the 4-mile pipeline segment in the park and remove it.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed Sable on March 13 to restart production under the Defense Production Act, saying California relies heavily on imported crude, including oil that moves through the Strait of Hormuz. He said “more than 60% of the oil refined in California comes from overseas, with a significant share traveling through the Strait of Hormuz — presenting serious national security threats.”

The order escalated a legal fight over whether federal authority can override state objections. State officials say Sable lacked valid permission to use the state park land after 2016. Sable disputes that and says it has the proper permits.

A state judge in 2024 ordered the operation stopped until Sable showed compliance with state regulations. Santa Barbara County District Attorney also filed felony charges accusing the company of polluting waterways and harming wildlife during pipeline repairs.

The U.S. Energy Department said Sable could raise California oil production by 15% and replace nearly 1.5 million barrels of foreign crude each month. But Paasha Mahdavi, a University of California, Santa Barbara professor, said the projected 50,000 barrels a day would not affect domestic supplies or gas prices.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta, who filed two lawsuits over the project, said “the U. S. already produces significantly more oil and gas than we use — it’s a completely fabricated claim intended to curry favor with the oil industry.”

Sable Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Flores said April 20 that the pipeline had already produced more than 1 million barrels of oil. “We are working tirelessly to provide American oil from American soil to consumers in California and the U. S. military,” he said.

This month, Judge Donna Geck left in place an injunction she issued last year after the California Coastal Commission fined Sable $18 million. She wrote that case law “strongly implies that the (Defense Production Act) order, by itself, does not permit the violation of applicable state regulatory law.”
China

China blocks Meta-Manus deal after review

China’s top economic planner said it blocked Meta’s acquisition of Singapore-based AI startup Manus and ordered the deal unwound.

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China’s top economic planner, the National Development and Reform Commission, said Monday it had blocked Meta’s acquisition of Manus, an artificial intelligence startup founded by Chinese engineers that later relocated to Singapore.

The agency said it ordered the parties to unwind the deal. “The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has made a decision to prohibit foreign investment in the Manus project in accordance with laws and regulations, and has required the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition transaction,” it said.

China’s National Development and Reform Commission did not provide an explanation.

About 100 Manus employees had already moved into Meta’s Singapore offices as of March, according to the report, and the founders had taken executive roles. Manus CEO Xiao Hong now reports to Meta Chief Operating Officer Javier Olivan. Hong and Manus Chief Scientist Yichao Ji were reportedly under exit bans that prevented them from leaving mainland China.

Founded in 2022 by Hong, Ji, and Tao Zhang, Manus was originally established in Beijing under parent company Butterfly Effect before relocating its headquarters to Singapore around mid-2025. Meta announced the acquisition in December 2025 for about $2 billion to $3 billion, with plans to integrate Manus’ agent technology into Meta AI.

Nikkei Asia reported that the deal required Manus to fully exit Chinese ownership and operations.
World

Rubio cites Iran divisions as obstacle in talks

Rubio said divisions within Iran’s leadership limited what its negotiators could offer in talks with the U.S.

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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Monday that internal divisions within Iran’s leadership were a major obstacle to reaching an agreement with Tehran.

In an interview with Fox News’ Trey Yingst, Rubio said Iranian negotiators often disagreed with other factions in the Iranian government, limiting what they could offer in talks.

“Other than the fact that the country is run by radical Shia clerics, that’s a pretty big impediment. The other is that they’re deeply fractured internally, and I think that’s always been the case, but I think it’s far more pronounced now. The best way to understand Iran is you have a political class now. I think, look, people talk about moderates and hardliners. They’re all hardliners in Iran. But there are hardliners who understand they have to run a country and an economy, and there are hardliners that are completely motivated by theology,” Rubio said.

Rubio said Iran’s leadership included officials focused on governing and others driven primarily by ideology.

“The hardliners that are motivated by theology are not just the IRGC officials, but obviously the supreme leader and the council that surrounds him. And then you’ve got the political class, the foreign minister, the president, the speaker of the moguls. These guys, they’re hardliners, too, but they also understand the country has to have an economy. People have to eat, they have to figure out a way to pay salaries and their government. And so you see a tension, and you always have in that system between the Iranians who understand, let’s be hardliners. But let’s also balance that with the need to run a country and the hardliners who don’t care and have this apocalyptic vision of the future,” he continued.

Rubio said those internal divisions complicated U.S. negotiations with Iran.

“Unfortunately, the hardliners with an apocalyptic vision of the future have the ultimate power in that country,” he added. “So as much as anything else, one of the impediments here is that our negotiators aren’t just negotiating with Iranians. Those Iranians then have to negotiate with other Iranians in order to figure out what they can agree to, what they can offer, what they’re willing to do, even who they’re willing to meet with.”
Australia

Australia proposes tax on Meta, Google, TikTok

It is Australia’s second legislative effort to require platforms to pay for Australian news content.

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Australia released draft legislation Tuesday that would tax major digital platforms, including Meta, Google, and TikTok, unless they make commercial deals with news publishers to pay for journalism.

The government said it planned to introduce the legislation to Parliament by July 2. The proposal, called the News Bargaining Incentive, would charge major platforms that do not strike deals with publishers 2.25% of their Australian revenue.

The government said platforms would receive offsets that reduce their overall costs if they agree to pay publishers for journalism. It estimated the measure would raise 200 million to 250 million Australian dollars ($144 million to $179 million) a year, about what platforms paid news outlets when the News Media Bargaining Code was at its peak.

Communications Minister Anika Wells said the government would distribute the money among news organizations based on the number of journalists they employ.

Under the 2021 News Media Bargaining Code, platforms reached commercial deals with publishers rather than enter arbitration and have a judge set prices. But the government said platforms have since avoided renewing those deals by removing news from their services.

The proposed tax would apply to Meta Platforms, which owns Facebook and Instagram, Google, owned by Alphabet Inc., and TikTok, which is majority-owned by U.S.-backed investors.

Meta said news organizations “voluntarily post content on our platforms because they receive value from doing so.”

“The idea that we take their news content is simply wrong. This proposed legislation, which would apply to platforms regardless of whether news content even appears on our services, is nothing more than a digital services tax,” Meta said in a statement.
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The U.S. Supreme Court gave a mixed response Monday to Bayer AG’s effort to halt tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging its Roundup herbicide should have carried a cancer warning.

During arguments in Washington, the justices considered a $1.25 million Missouri jury verdict for a man who blamed Roundup for his non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Bayer argued that because U.S. regulators did not require a cancer warning, federal law bars that suit and similar claims.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggested support for Bayer’s position, questioning whether failure-to-warn lawsuits can be reconciled with a federal provision requiring “uniformity” in herbicide labels. Chief Justice John Roberts, however, said states reviewing new evidence that a product is dangerous should be able to “call this danger to the attention of the people.”

Bayer said federal law preempts state-law failure-to-warn claims. The dispute centers on the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, which governs pesticides, requires adequate labeling, and says states cannot impose additional mandates.

Bayer shares fell as much as 6.5% in early trading Tuesday in Frankfurt. The stock had risen 67% over the past year through Monday’s close amid investor optimism about limiting Roundup-related liabilities and progress in the company’s pharmaceutical pipeline.

The court is expected to rule by early July.
Africa

Attack in northeast Nigeria kills at least 29

The Islamic State West Africa Province claimed responsibility.

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Gunmen killed at least 29 people in northeastern Nigeria on Sunday, Adamawa state Gov. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri said Monday, after residents said attackers opened fire on young people gathered at a football pitch.

The attack happened in Guyaku community in Gombi Local Government Area, in Adamawa state near the Cameroon border. The area has faced violence from jihadist groups, criminal gangs, and disputes over land.

Fintiri visited the scene and “confirmed that no fewer than 29 people were killed in a deadly attack on Guyaku community in Gombi Local Government Area,” his spokesman said in a social media post.

The governor’s office, citing local community leader Aggrey Ali, said “the attackers operated for several hours, killing dozens of residents, burning places of worship, and destroying property including motorcycles.”

Since 2009, the insurgency led mainly by Boko Haram and the Islamic State West Africa Province has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions in northeastern Nigeria, according to the United Nations. The conflict has also spread to Niger, Chad, and Cameroon.

A separate attack also occurred Sunday more than 100 kilometers away in Lamurde area, where a local community blamed communal clashes over farmland disputes.
Finance & Markets

Oil rises to three-week high

Brent crude rose above $111, bringing its weekly gain to nearly 6%, while West Texas Intermediate traded above $98.

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Oil rose to a three-week high above $110 a barrel in London as traders awaited the U.S. response to an Iranian proposal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump convened a meeting to discuss Iran’s proposal, but maintained “red lines” for any deal, including preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

A ceasefire has broadly held since early April, but Iranian and U.S. blockades have reduced daily transits through the strait to near zero. The disruption has curbed flows of crude, natural gas, and oil products, pushing up energy prices and raising inflation concerns.

Iranian media said Sunday that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would tell Pakistan, which is mediating peace talks, that the conflict could end if the U.S. lifts its naval blockade, agrees to a new legal framework for traffic through the strait, and guarantees there will be no future military action against Iran.

Trump and his national security team are skeptical of the proposal but will continue talks, and the White House is likely to offer a response and counterproposals in the coming days.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Fox News interview aired Monday that Iran appeared to want to retain control of Hormuz, which he said was unacceptable to the U.S. Before the war, about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas moved through the waterway.

Two Iran-linked oil tankers interdicted by U.S. forces near Sri Lanka last week appeared to have stopped heading west in the Indian Ocean and turned around. The U.S. cordon on shipping to and from Iranian ports began April 13 and has turned away dozens of vessels.
Finance & Markets

Oil rises to three-week high

Brent crude rose above $111, bringing its weekly gain to nearly 6%, while West Texas Intermediate traded above $98.

Full story +

Oil rose to a three-week high above $110 a barrel in London as traders awaited the U.S. response to an Iranian proposal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump convened a meeting to discuss Iran’s proposal, but maintained “red lines” for any deal, including preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

A ceasefire has broadly held since early April, but Iranian and U.S. blockades have reduced daily transits through the strait to near zero. The disruption has curbed flows of crude, natural gas, and oil products, pushing up energy prices and raising inflation concerns.

Iranian media said Sunday that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would tell Pakistan, which is mediating peace talks, that the conflict could end if the U.S. lifts its naval blockade, agrees to a new legal framework for traffic through the strait, and guarantees there will be no future military action against Iran.

Trump and his national security team are skeptical of the proposal but will continue talks, and the White House is likely to offer a response and counterproposals in the coming days.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Fox News interview aired Monday that Iran appeared to want to retain control of Hormuz, which he said was unacceptable to the U.S. Before the war, about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas moved through the waterway.

Two Iran-linked oil tankers interdicted by U.S. forces near Sri Lanka last week appeared to have stopped heading west in the Indian Ocean and turned around. The U.S. cordon on shipping to and from Iranian ports began April 13 and has turned away dozens of vessels.