A new video of Saturday’s shooting at White House press dinner has emerged that showed the shooter, identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of California, tried to storm the event in his attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump.ย
The nearly six-minute video was released by US Attorney for District of Columbia, Jeanine Ferris Pirro, on micro-blogging site X (formerly Twitter), Allen running through sensor gates and firing at law enforcement officials present at the security checks, who also fired back at him.ย
The video also showed Allen spending some time at the gym of the Washington Hilton Hotel on Friday, where he was staying as a guest.ย
Pirro, though, said there is no evidence that the shooting was a result of ‘friendly fire’, adding that he office, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), will continue with the “extensive investigation” to bring Allen to justice.ย
“Today, we are releasing video already provided to U.S. District Court showing Cole Allen shoot a U.S. Secret Service officer during his attempt to assassinate the President at the White House Correspondentsโ Dinner,” Pirro Xed. “The video also shows Allen casing the area in the Hilton Hotel the day before the attack.”ย
Who was Allen?
Allen was a graduate of the California Institute of Technology. He also has a Master’s degree in Computer Science from the California State University-Dominguez Hills. Officials say Allen, who worked as a part-time tutor for a test preparation company, was carrying multiple weapons, including a pistol, shotgun and knives.ย
He has been charged with “attempt to assassinate” the president, and if he is convicted on this count, he will face a life sentence. However, Allen in the court has said that he does not have a criminal background and is “presumed innocent at this time”.ย
“The governmentโs evidence of the charged offense โ the attempted assassination of the president โ is thus built entirely upon speculation, even under the most generous reading of its theory,” his lawyers stated, as reported by The Associated Press.
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