Suspect’s prolonged gun acquisition preceding DC dinner incident

(SeaPRwire) –   According to a law enforcement intelligence report examined by Bloomberg, the individual charged with infiltrating the White House Correspondents’ Dinner methodically built his weapons cache over several years, having purchased a semi-automatic handgun two years prior to the incident and a shotgun from a Torrance, California, gun shop eight months before the event.

The report indicates that 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen acquired a Maverick 12-gauge pump-action shotgun from Turner’s Outdoorsman in Torrance in August 2025, following his October 2023 purchase of an Armscor semi-automatic pistol from CAP Tactical Firearms in Lawndale.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche stated on CBS’s Face the Nation this Sunday that Allen, who graduated from Caltech with a mechanical engineering degree in 2017 and was enrolled in a computer science master’s program at California State University-Dominguez Hills as of 2025, traveled across the country by train. He took Amtrak from Los Angeles to Chicago, continued to Washington, and resided at the Washington Hilton for several days leading up to the attack.

Blanche noted that while preliminary findings indicate Allen intended to target administration officials, he did not offer further details and added that the suspect is refusing to cooperate with authorities.

The incident is expected to draw increased attention to rail security. In contrast to air travel, Amtrak does not mandate that passengers declare firearms. While investigators have yet to confirm how Allen moved the weapons across state borders, Blanche dismissed suggestions that security protocols should be strengthened.

“I don’t think the narrative here is about changing laws,” he remarked.

Allen is currently facing two federal counts: assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon and the use of a firearm during a violent crime. Blanche indicated that further charges are anticipated, and Allen is set to appear for his arraignment in federal court in Washington on Monday.