The suspect in Saturday’s White House correspondents’ dinner shooting is described as “very intelligent” by students he tutored in Southern California.
ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
Once again, the suspect in last night’s shooting is said to live in Torrance, California. That’s a suburb of Los Angeles. Reporter Steve Futterman is there and has been tracking down more details about Cole Allen. Hello, Steve.
STEVE FUTTERMAN, BYLINE: Hi, Rob.
SCHMITZ: So what else can you tell us about Cole Allen?
FUTTERMAN: Well, today we’re really learning a lot about Allen. He is 31 years old. He received a degree in mechanical engineering from Caltech here in Southern California. He later earned a master’s degree in computer science from a state university here. He had recently been working for a company that provides tutoring and helps students prepare for college entrance exams. One of his tutor students was Jason, a 17-year-old 11th grade student. We only use his name because he is a minor. Allen helped him prepare for his physics courses. I spoke to him last night. He said Allen’s politics and ideology never emerged.
JASON: No, never. We would stay on topic the whole time, we never said anything about Trump or anything like that. So he kept it to himself; I guess he kept most of his opinions to himself.
FUTTERMAN: Was he a good teacher? Did it help you?
JASON: Yes. It was a great help. Like I said, he was a little quirky, but overall he was a good guy.
FUTTERMAN: In what way was it peculiar?
JASON: You know some people, you know, if they’re really smart, something like that. But I mean, yeah. He was a great guy.
FUTTERMAN: And Jason says this took him completely by surprise.
SCHMITZ: Wow. Very peculiar: a former student calls him peculiar. You know, what else can you tell us about his life?
FUTTERMAN: Well, NPR has confirmed that Allen visited shooting ranges in Southern California. He attended at least one No King march. On a LinkedIn page that appears to belong to him, he describes himself as a mechanical and computer engineer by training, a freelance game developer by experience, and a teacher by birth. And, in fact, Allen was named teacher of the year in 2024; or rather, teacher of the month, according to his employer’s LinkedIn page.
SCHMITZ: Okay.
FUTTERMAN: Your LinkedIn profile page also indicates that while you were at Caltech University, you were in the Christian Fellowship program. NPR, by the way, found no criminal history when conducting a background check on Allen.
SCHMITZ: So, Steve, you’ve been there at the suspect’s house since…
FUTTERMAN: Yes.
SCHMITZ: …Last night. Tell us about the scene there.
FUTTERMAN: Well, the FBI agents arrived here last night, I would say about two hours after the incident. The suspect lived with his parents on this very quiet residential street. Yellow crime scene tape was placed around the house. And all night long we watched FBI agents come and go from the house. Now, things that investigators would especially look for would include items like computers, cell phones, and any digital storage devices.
SCHMITZ: Right.
FUTTERMAN: And a few more things we should point out. As he heard earlier, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Allen arrived in Washington by train, first from Los Angeles to Chicago, then to DC. He had that room at the Washington Hilton hotel, and as for the weapons recovered last night, a shotgun and a pistol, Blanche says, they were probably purchased within the last two years.
SCHMITZ: Okay. Then today on Fox News, President Trump spoke about the incident. Tell us about that.
FUTTERMAN: Well, a White House spokesperson told NPR that Allen sent his family members what the White House calls a manifesto minutes before the incident at the Hilton Hotel occurred. The document claims Allen wanted to target administration officials. That’s according to the White House. The official, who is not authorized to speak publicly, told NPR that Allen’s brother notified police about the document. NPR, by the way, has not independently seen any of the writings. Now, on Fox News, Trump spoke briefly and criticized what Allen wrote.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And the guy is a sick guy when you read his manifesto.
FUTTERMAN: And NPR also learned that the document contained many anti-Trump references.
SCHMITZ: That’s reporter Steve Futterman in Torrance, California. Steve, thank you very much for all those reports.
FUTTERMAN: Thanks, Rob.
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