Investigators believe that the attacker at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner intended to target senior officials

American investigators suggested on Sunday that the gunman who was arrested after he attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in the presence of President Donald Trump intended to target Trump and senior officials in the administration, while questions arose regarding the security measures that were taken at the occasion.

Trump, who was quickly escorted out of the hotel hall in Washington by intelligence agents, published footage from surveillance cameras showing the gunman running and crossing a security checkpoint, while security personnel quickly brandished their weapons.

After an exchange of gunfire, the suspect was arrested at the scene and underwent questioning on Sunday before his scheduled appearance in court on Monday.

American media reported that he was Cole Thomas Allen (31 years old), from the southwestern suburbs of Los Angeles.

Prosecutor Todd Blanche said that based on preliminary information, investigators believe the man “was targeting members of the administration.”

As Blanche confirmed that no other motive for the attack had emerged, he explained that the suspect, who was armed with a hunting rifle, a pistol, and knives, was a guest at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where a dinner was held on Saturday evening.

Blanche added, “We believe that he moved by train from Los Angeles to Chicago, and then from Chicago to Washington,” suggesting that he “purchased these weapons during the past two years.”

He added that the suspect “is not actively cooperating” with the investigation, expressing his belief that “a federal court in Washington will formally charge him tomorrow (Monday) morning.”

-Act alone?-

President Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President Jay DeVance, a number of government members and senior members of Congress, and hundreds of guests in formal evening clothes were present in the hall.

Amidst the chaos, attendees took shelter under tables, while intelligence personnel rushed to the hall where the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, which is organized annually in the American capital, was being held.

Without providing evidence, Trump indicated on Sunday that the suspect wrote a statement that was “very anti-Christian.”

“When you read his statement, you will find that he hates Christianity,” he said in a phone call with Fox News, describing the attacker as “obviously very disturbed.”

He added, “He hates Christians. It is a deep hatred.”

He explained that the man “had had a lot of hatred in his heart for a long time. It was very anti-Christian.”

Trump had expressed his hope, in a hastily held night press conference at the White House, that the date for the media dinner would be rescheduled within a month.

He pointed out that those concerned believe it is likely that the gunman acted alone. “I think so too,” he said. A security officer was shot at close range while wearing his bullet-proof vest, but he was not seriously injured.

For her part, White House spokeswoman Caroline Levitt, who was also evacuated from the hall on Saturday evening, wrote on the X platform on Sunday, “What was supposed to be a friendly evening (…) in which President Trump would tell jokes and celebrate freedom of expression, a deviant criminal turned it into an occasion to attempt to assassinate the president and kill as many senior Trump administration officials as possible.”

Former US President Barack Obama on Sunday called on Americans to renounce violence, saying, “We must all renounce the idea that violence has any place in our democracy,” praising the law enforcement officers who rushed to protect Trump.

While questions arose about the measures that were taken to ensure the president’s safety, Trump recalled that the hotel that was hosting the dinner was not a “particularly safe facility.”

On Sunday evening, an Agence France-Presse photographer saw FBI agents, who specialize in high-risk incidents such as terrorism and hostage-taking, raid a two-story house linked to the suspect in Torrance, California.

Trump was previously targeted in an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024, before the presidential election. A gunman then fired shots, killing one of the attendees and slightly wounding the Republican candidate in the ear.

A few months later, another man was arrested after a Secret Service agent saw a gun barrel protruding from the bushes around a West Palm Beach course where Trump was playing a round of golf.

The Washington Hilton Hotel, where the incident occurred, is the same site where former Republican President Ronald Reagan was subjected to an assassination attempt in 1981.

This year, the White House Correspondents Association invited Trump to this dinner despite his repeated attacks on the media. Unlike all previous presidents over a hundred years, Trump has never attended a dinner while in office.

Journalists and prominent Washington figures will attend the ceremony to raise funds for scholarships and awards.