Cole Tomas Allen, the alleged gunman who is accused of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, gave the details about his list of targets, which included US President Donald Trump and all of the members of his administration. But he clarified that one member was not a target: FBI chief Kash Patel.
In the so-called manifesto of the shooter, reported by the New York Post, Allen gave out his rules of engagement.
“I’ll also go over my expected rules of engagement (probably in a terrible format, but I’m not military so too bad.) Administration officials (not including Mr Patel): they are targets, prioritised from highest-ranking to lowest,” the manifesto read.
“Secret Service: they are targets only if necessary, and to be incapacitated non-lethally if possible (aka, I hope they’re wearing body armour because centre mass with shotguns messes up people who *aren’t*,” the manifesto added.
Allen further elaborated on the list of people who weren’t his targets, and also added caveats about some of them.
“Hotel Security: not targets if at all possible (aka unless they shoot at me). Capitol Police: same as Hotel Security. National Guard: same as Hotel Security. Hotel Employees: not targets at all. Guests: not targets at all,” he allegedly wrote.
HT has not independently verified the transcript of the alleged manifesto.
What happened at the Washington Hilton?
Donald Trump was uninjured after a shooting incident disrupted the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday night, forcing an evacuation of top officials and guests. The event was scrapped and will be rescheduled.
Authorities said the incident unfolded outside the ballroom where Trump and other attendees were seated. The suspect has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, according to two law enforcement officials cited by the Associated Press.
While addressing a press conference hours after the shooting incident, Trump said the individual was armed with “multiple weapons” before being stopped by security personnel. The suspect in his manifesto said that he would use buckshot rather than slugs in order to minimise casualties.
In his first account of the moment, Trump said he initially mistook the sound of gunfire for something else. The noise was “quite far away,” he said, adding that the first lady quickly realised the gravity of the situation. “I think she knew immediately what happened,” he said, recalling her words: “That’s a bad noise.”
The disruption came just as the dinner was getting underway. Attendees were eating a spring pea and burrata salad when armed security rushed into the ballroom and shouted for people to get down, an AP report detailed.
Journalists in formal wear ducked under tables as glasses clinked and wine spilled in the rush for safety, some in the room reported hearing between five and eight shots.
The FBI, in a statement, confirmed that the suspect is in custodyand that its Washington field office is responding to the incident. The city’s Metropolitan Police Department said its officers were on the scene and coordinating with federal agencies.
Trump said in a post shortly after the incident that a shooter has been apprehended. He also shared images of the suspect in custody and a clip purportedly showing the individual running through a security checkpoint before being apprehended
🚨 BREAKING: Watch the full clip here ➤
