Legal filing raises questions about who shot Secret Service officer at press dinner

Source: Reuters

April 29, 2026 4:05 PM EDT Updated 11 hours ago


April 29 (Reuters) - A U.S. government court filing on Wednesday raised questions about officials’ initial assertions that a gunman shot a Secret ​Service officer while allegedly attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner.

The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, fired a ‌shotgun "in the direction of the stairs leading down to the ballroom" where Trump, other administration officials and members of the press were gathered on Saturday night, according to the pretrial detention motion, which offered the government's most extensive account yet of the incident.

In the motion, prosecutors referred to an officer firing five times, but the document does not mention that officer or any ​other being shot. A spent cartridge was found in the suspect's shotgun, according to Wednesday's motion. The document did not accuse Allen of aiming at or ​striking the Secret Service officer who authorities say was shot in the chest but protected by his body armor.

That contrasts with ⁠statements made earlier by acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. It also raises the question of who ​fired the round that struck the Secret Service officer.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/legal-filing-raises-questions-about-who-shot-secret-service-officer-press-dinner-2026-04-29/