A bullet that struck a Secret Service agent during the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner over the weekend was miraculously deflected by his phone, according to reports. The suspect, Cole Allen, 31, allegedly fired several shots at the Washington Hilton during the annual gala on the evening of April 25. While multiple rounds were discharged, only one struck a person — a member of the Secret Service. And, as reported by the Atlantic, the bullet was stopped by his phone and his bulletproof vest.
President Trump later praised the officer's bravery, stating from the White House: 'He was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun, and the vest did the job. I just spoke to the officer and he's doing great.'
Attack Details
Allen, from Torrance, California, reportedly charged a security checkpoint at the dinner armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and several knives. He was tackled by agents after a brief but terrifying exchange of gunfire in the hotel lobby. Harrowing surveillance footage captured the moment Allen stormed past security. The ballroom, filled with top journalists, Hollywood celebrities, and Cabinet members including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, became a scene of pandemonium. Footage shows guests in tuxedos and evening gowns huddled under tables as Secret Service agents patrolled the floor.
Trump, still wearing his tuxedo, addressed the nation just two hours later. 'When you're impactful, they go after you,' he said defiantly. 'They seem to think he was a lone wolf. We're not going to let anybody take over our society.' The White House has confirmed that the dinner will be rescheduled within 30 days, promising an event that is 'bigger and better.' However, Washington remains on high alert as it grapples with yet another attempt on the President's life.
Manifesto Discovered
Authorities have discovered that Allen wrote a chilling manifesto before arriving at the Washington Hilton Hotel. His family members told law enforcement that he had sent them some of his disturbing writings before the attack, prompting his brother to alert police. The writings did not specifically mention the dinner, CBS News reported. Allen's brother notified the New London Police Department in Connecticut of the manifesto minutes before the attack, a White House official confirmed to CNN.
Trump said in an interview with Fox News that he had heard about the report and wished the department had informed federal authorities earlier. The US Secret Service and Montgomery County Police also interviewed the suspect's sister in Rockville, Maryland, according to a White House official.
In his manifesto, Allen mocked the lack of security at the event and on his journey to Washington DC. He detailed his reasoning for the attack, his 'rules of engagement,' and a 'rant' about how little security he encountered. 'What the hell is the Secret Service doing?' Allen wrote in a postscript. 'I expected security cameras at every bend, bugged hotel rooms, armed agents every 10 feet, metal detectors out the wazoo. What I got (who knows, maybe they're pranking me!) is nothing.'
The radicalised teacher described a 'sense of arrogance' at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the dinner was held. 'The security at the event is all outside... because apparently no one thought about what happens if someone checks in the day before,' Allen wrote. He added that the security was so lacking that 'if I was an Iranian agent, instead of an American citizen, I could have brought a damn Ma Deuce in here and no one would have noticed sh**.' Ma Deuce is a nickname for the M2 Browning .50-calibre machine gun.
Targets and Rules of Engagement
Earlier in his manifesto, Allen explained why he had attempted to break into the dinner and kill top Trump administration officials. 'I am no longer willing to permit a paedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,' he wrote, likely in reference to President Donald Trump. He said that as a citizen of the US, what his representatives do reflects on him. The suspected shooter added that he had wanted to take action for a long time, 'but this is the first real opportunity I've had to do something about it.'
He then outlined his 'rules of engagement' and identified his targets. 'Administration officials (not including Mr. Patel): they are targets, prioritised from highest-ranking to lowest,' Allen wrote. It is unclear why Kash Patel, the director of the FBI, was spared from his hit list. Allen listed other targets in order of priority. He wrote that Secret Service agents who got in his way were 'targets only if necessary,' and that he hoped to incapacitate them 'non-lethally if possible.' 'I hope they're wearing body armour because centre mass with shotguns messes up people who *aren't*,' he wrote. Allen reportedly did later shoot one Secret Service agent in a bulletproof vest.
He also wrote that hotel security, Capitol police and national guardsmen would only be targets if they shot at him first. Hotel guests and employees were 'not targets at all,' he wrote. 'In order to minimise casualties I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls),' Allen's manifesto continued. But he ominously added: 'I would still go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary (on the basis that most people *chose* to attend a speech by a paedophile, rapist, and traitor, and are thus complicit) but I really hope it doesn't come to that.'
In the manifesto, Allen also included a section of 'Rebuttals to objections' of him carrying out the shooting, and he apologised to family members, his students and the people he encountered on his way to carry out the shooting.
