Law enforcement officials have identified the man arrested after gunfire was reported inside the hotel hosting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen.
The suspect, said to be from Torrance in the Los Angeles area of California, was detained by security agents at the Washington Hilton hotel on Saturday night.
According to sources cited by CBS, Allen allegedly told authorities he intended to shoot officials in the administration of Donald Trump.
Speaking in an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche said investigations into the suspect’s motive were ongoing.
However, preliminary findings suggest he may have been targeting senior government officials, possibly including the former president.
Blanche added that investigators are examining reports the suspect assembled the weapon inside the hotel but noted that he “didn’t get very far.”
“He barely broke the perimeter,” Blanche said, adding that the suspect is believed to have travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington, D.C.
Authorities say the investigation is continuing.
