Footage from the security checkpoint shows officers taking down magnetometers when the alleged gunman emerges from a doorway and starts sprinting toward them with a firearm
The alleged gunman emerged from a doorway and started sprinting toward officers(Image: X/US Attorney Pirro)
Prosecutors have shared a video of the moment authorities say an armed man stormed the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in an attempt to kill the US president.
Jeanine Pirro, the US attorney for Washington, posted the video on social media on Thursday, April 30. The nearly six-minute video shows the alleged gunman, Cole Tomas Allen, walking back and forth down a hallway the day before the attack, and briefly checking out the hotel gym.
Footage from the security checkpoint shows federal officers taking down magnetometers when the alleged gunman emerges from a doorway and starts sprinting toward them. The gunman quickly reaches the officers before most of them appear to notice him.
Only one officer visible in the video appears to have drawn his gun before the gunman passed; Pirro said he’s the one who was shot and returned fire.
Prosecutors had previously claimed the agent was shot in the bullet-resistant vest during the melee, but had not confirmed it was Allen who shot the agent. Pirro said that there is no evidence that the officer was hit by friendly fire.
Allen, 31, from California, was injured but was not shot during the incident at the Washington Hilton, which disrupted the event packed with journalists and administration officials, including top-ranking leaders.
Allen earlier on Thursday agreed to remain jailed while he awaits trial. He did not enter a plea during his brief appearance in federal court.
Court papers state that Allen took a picture of himself in his hotel room minutes before the incident, and that he was outfitted with an ammunition bag, a shoulder gun holster and a sheathed knife.
Allen reportedly referred to himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin” and alluded to grievances over a range of Trump administration actions.
He was charged on Monday with the attempted assassination of the president and two additional firearms counts, including discharging a weapon during a crime of violence.
He faces up to life in prison if convicted of the assassination count alone.
