Fox News88%
Suspect Cole Allen in custody after shots fired at White House Correspondents’ Dinner | Live Updates from Fox News Digital 54%
By Stephen Sorace0% Michael Sinkewicz45% Asra Q. Nomani0% Amanda Macias0% Bill Melugin0%
4/26/2026, 2:55:18 PM
Topics: Liveblog
BS Summary: This article contains 21 faulty reasoning types, including Hasty Generalization, Appeal to Emotion, and Negativity Bias, with Unattributed Quote as the most egregious example at 12.5% saturation with 243 hits. Analysis detected 1,467 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,948 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 52.4% and a BS Rank of 54% (7,784 of 16,813 articles). This article is worse (more manipulative) than 53.70% of the article peer group.
White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect ID’d, FBI secures his California home
Authorities have identified 31-year-old Cole Allen as the suspect who breached security at the Washington Hilton, wounding a Secret Service agent before being tackled.
As President Trump calls for a permanent return to White House-based events, the FBI has moved to secure the suspect’s home in Torrance, California.
Covered by: Stephen Sorace, Michael Sinkewicz, Asra Q.
Nomani, Amanda Macias and Bill Melugin
WHAT TO KNOW
Cole Allen, 31, from Torrance, California is the man accused of opening fire at the Washington Hilton Hotel during the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
The suspect is in custody as authorities are continuing to investigate a motive for the shooting.
President Donald Trump was whisked away from the Washington Hilton Hotel by Secret Service along with First Lady Melania Trump and other high-profile cabinet officials.
Former Trump aide describes security at Washington Hilton hotel before shooting
A former aide to President Donald Trump attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner told “FOX & Friends” that he noticed the hotel hosting the event was lacking security buffers at certain points.
Harrison Fields, a former White House principal deputy press secretary, said “there were no checkpoints to get into the hotel,” adding that the gunman could have been roaming and watching those in attendance at the Washington Hilton hotel.
"There was a VIP reception right off the main ballroom where Cabinet secretaries were, where the president could have been — and there was no security apparatus leading up to that point," Fields said.
"We have to agree that the Secret Service and local law enforcement took immediate steps to keep us safe — but was no real buffer, and that was one of the immediate feelings I felt as soon as I walked into the hotel,” he continued.
The Hilton hotel has hosted the dinner for years and usually remains open to regular guests during the event.
Security has typically been focused on the ballroom rather than the hotel at large, with little screening for people not entering the dinner itself.
That security framework has created openings for disruptions in the lobby and other public spaces, including protests in which security moved to remove guests who unfurled banners or staged demonstrations.
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley Jr. outside the Hilton — an event that prompted redesigns of the property that increased security and added a special presidential suite near the entrance where chief executives could be taken.
Trump was whisked away there briefly after the shots were fired Saturday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this post.
Posted by Stephen Sorace
WHCD suspect told law enforcement he planned to ‘shoot Trump administration officials’: sources
The White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect told law enforcement after his arrest Saturday night that he was targeting Trump administration officials, senior federal law enforcement sources with knowledge of the investigation told Fox News.
Cole Allen said he planned to “shoot Trump administration officials,” the sources said.
Authorities have said Allen rushed a Secret Service checkpoint at the event at the Washington Hilton hotel while armed with multiple weapons.
He then opened fire, striking a Secret Service officer in his ballistic vest.
Agents fired back at Allen, who was not struck.
Both the Secret Service officer and Allen were taken to the hospital.
The FBI and local law enforcement secured the suspect’s home in Torrance, California, overnight, Fox News previously learned.
A federal judge in the Central District of California is expected to sign a search warrant, the U.S.
Attorney’s Office told Fox News.
Once the warrant is approved, the FBI will be able to search the suspect’s home.
Obtaining the warrant could take several hours.
Fox News’ Matt Finn, along with Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace, Peter D’Abrosca and Asra Q.
Nomani contributed to this report.
Posted by Bill Melugin
Trump calls to ‘immediately’ drop legal challenges to White House ballroom after WHCD shooting
President Donald Trump called for legal challenges to the proposed White House ballroom to be “immediately” dropped, arguing the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner highlights longstanding security concerns with hosting large, high-profile events outside White House grounds.
The annual dinner, held at the Washington Hilton in D.C., draws journalists, government officials and celebrities.
“What happened last night is exactly the reason that our great Military, Secret Service, [and] Law Enforcement … have been demanding that a large, safe, and secure ballroom be built on the grounds of the White House,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.
He added that the incident “would never have happened” if the ballroom currently under construction had already been completed, describing the planned venue as having “the highest level security features” and being located within the White House complex, inside what he called “the most secure building in the world.”
Trump said the project should not face further delays, emphasizing that it is “on budget and substantially ahead of schedule,” and reiterating that legal challenges “must be dropped, immediately.”
Posted by Amanda Macias
Shooting at WHCA dinner venue brings new attention to Trump's White House ballroom
The Saturday night shooting at the D.C. hotel hosting the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner has renewed attention on President Donald Trump’s push for a secure White House ballroom, which he says would make events like this safer.
In response to the incident, Trump criticized the current hotel setting as lacking adequate security and used it to underscore his push for a new ballroom designed with reinforced materials and other protective features.
The new ballroom, however, is facing both legal and political challenges.
Courts are considering whether the administration sidestepped required approval processes, while critics are raising concerns about the cost and the potential effects on the historic White House grounds.
The proposed 90,000-square-foot ballroom would accommodate roughly 650 guests and replace the East Wing, representing a significant alteration to the White House layout.
Supporters describe it as a security-focused upgrade largely funded by private sources, while opponents argue it’s an unnecessary and disruptive change.
Although the White House has long hosted major events, it has never included a dedicated ballroom.
Italy’s Meloni reaffirms solidarity with Trump and Vance, slams ‘poison’ of political fanaticism
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner an attack on open political discourse, reaffirming her unity with President Donald Trump and other administration leaders.
“I wish to express my full solidarity and most sincere closeness to President Trump, to First Lady Melania, to Vice President Vance, and to all those present for what happened at last night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” Meloni wrote in Italian on X.
[Tweet URL]
“No political hatred can find space in our democracies,” the prime minister continued.
“We will not allow fanaticism to poison the places of free debate and information.
The defense of the culture of confrontation must remain the insurmountable bulwark against every intolerant drift, to safeguard the values that found our Nations.”
Meloni, like some other European leaders, has developed a frosty relationship with Trump over the ongoing war with Iran.
Starmer says ‘huge relief’ Trump, others safe after shots fired at WHCD
U.K.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, expressing relief that President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and other senior officials were all safe.
“I am shocked by the scenes at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington overnight,” Starmer said.
“Any attack on democratic institutions or on the freedom of the press must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.
It is a huge relief that @POTUS, the First Lady and all those attending are safe.”
Starmer’s message comes amid his icy relationship with Trump over the United States’ ongoing war with Iran.
Online posts crisscross the globe to shape anti-American propaganda after Washington Hilton shooting
Within minutes of reports that shots had been fired at the Washington Hilton Hotel during the White House Correspondents Dinner, adversarial voices began seeding anti-American narratives across messaging channels crisscrossing the globe.
At 9:10 p.m., members of an anti-American Telegram channel called “ResistanceTrench” quickly started swapping their spin on the narrative, one user posting support for the shooting, saying, “Let’s goo [sic] civil war time.”
The next minute, another user responded: “Maybe first shots of the revolution?”
The first user quickly escalated: “I think where [sic] witnessing beginning of the American civil war to be frankly honest.
They might blame it on iran [sic] but it’s obvious all the shooting and attack in america is leading towards civil war.”
The rapid cascade of posts — blending speculation, mockery and preemptive geopolitical framing — illustrates how moments of domestic crisis are quickly weaponized in the modern information environment, where loosely networked actors and ideological adversaries race to define the narrative before facts are established, often amplifying themes of instability, distrust and the inevitability of conflict and “civil war” in the United States.
Others on the Telegram channel mocked the unfolding situation in real time.
“Are they dead ass carrying him?”
one user asked of the Secret Service scurrying President Donald Trump out of the room.
Another dismissed the incident as staged: “Let’s see who they blame this on this fake soap opera.”
The speculation quickly turned geopolitical to anti-Israel rhetoric with a user declaring: “Within hours, expect Zionist accusations that Iran is behind the shooting.”
Some posts veered callously into ridicule and derision.
One user claimed, “Erica Kirk was crying leaving the scene,” with a laughing emoji, while another jeered at those evacuating: “Bunch of f***ing cowards,” using the full expletive.
By 9:34 p.m., still another mocked the situation, joking, “The shooters [sic] shirt will have the words ‘Strait outta hormuz’ written on them,” a twist on the popular rap T-shirt, “Straight outta Compton.”
Leftists in the U.S. quickly shared video footage from the chaos, including a livestream of self-declared Marxist influencer Hasan Piker, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, shouting, “Shots fired!
…What the f***!”
saying the full expletive.
Posted by Asra Q.
Nomani
UAE condemns 'heinous' attack at WH Correspondent’s Dinner; pledges solidarity with US
The United Arab Emirates has condemned the shooting that happened at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, calling it an attack against President Donald Trump that threatens global stability.
“The United Arab Emirates has strongly condemned the armed attack targeting His Excellency Donald Trump, President of the friendly United States of America, expressing its profound regret over the occurrence of this heinous crime,” the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The ministry said it further denounced all such criminal acts, forms of violence, extremism and terrorism “that seek to undermine security and stability."
The ministry also affirmed its solidarity with Trump and his family, along with the U.S. government and its people.
Authorities are continuing to investigate a motive for the shooting.
FBI secures alleged home of suspect in WHCD shooting, search warrant pending
The suspected home of the man accused in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting has been secured by the FBI and local law enforcement, Fox News has learned.
The suspect was identified as Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, according to a law enforcement briefing to Fox News Digital.
A federal judge in the Central District of California is expected to sign a search warrant, the U.S.
Attorney’s Office told Fox News.Once the warrant is approved, the FBI will be able to search the suspect’s home.
Obtaining the warrant could take several hours.
Fox News correspondent Matt Finn contributed to this report.
Posted by Michael Sinkewicz
Analysis
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