Witness recounts gunman assembling rifle at WHCD: ‘He pieced it together and started shooting’

WASHINGTON, DC: New details have emerged about the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (WHCD), with witnesses describing how a gunman managed to get close to the main event area before being stopped by security.

The incident took place at the Washington Hilton, where President Donald Trump and a number of high-profile guests were gathered. 

Witnesses detail gunman’s rush toward WHCD security checkpoint

According to witness accounts given to NBC, the situation unfolded quickly as the suspect moved through parts of the hotel before reaching a security checkpoint near the ballroom.

A volunteer, Helen Mabus, working at the event, said the area had briefly quieted when she noticed a man holding what appeared to be a rifle in a nearby corridor. “It was very quiet,” she recalled.

She saw the man holding what she quickly realized was a rifle. Before she could react, he tore off toward the security checkpoint about 40 feet away.

“He either unfolded a part of the gun or pieced it together,” Mabus said. “It became longer before my eyes. And within seconds, he was shooting.”

Witnesses said the suspect collapsed just short of entering the main event area, where guests had gathered for the dinner. 

Officials later clarified that the individual was not struck by gunfire at that moment but went down as security agents responded.

Witness describes hearing 3–4 shots during WHCD chaos

Similarly, Erin Thielman, an Air Force veteran attending the dinner at the Washington Hilton on Saturday evening, was ascending the staircase leading from the ballroom entrance to the upper level, where guests were screened.

“I heard three or four really loud bangs, and I saw this man charging towards me,” she said. “He was carrying a shotgun.”

President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House on April 25, 2026 in Washington, DC. President Trump is making a statement after the cancelation of the annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner after a possible shooting (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

In an instant, the gunman went down, landing at Thielman’s feet. “I didn’t even have to take a step to touch him,” she said. “I could have just bent down.”

Thielman said the man was lying face down with his hands flat on the ground and the gun next to his shoulder.

She ran down the stairs, thinking he had been shot. But officials said that wasn't true; the gunman fell to the ground when the Secret Service agents he ran past opened fire.

“Maybe he just decided it was really a bad idea, and he was going to fall down in a defenseless position,” Thielman said. “I don’t know.”

Gunman identified as Cole Allen in WHCD shooting probe

Authorities have identified the gunman as Cole Allen, 31, a paying guest at the Hilton.

He got past several layers of security at an event attended by President Donald Trump, several top Cabinet officials, and more than 2,500 journalists, politicians, and other VIPs.

Allen fell to the ground at the top of a staircase that led down to the ballroom entrance, where guests in evening wear were seated around tables.

The sound of gunfire prompted Secret Service and private security officers to jump over chairs to reach the people they were assigned to protect, while others hid under tables.

Thielman, the Air Force veteran who attended the dinner, said the security was standard for high-profile events. She had to show her ticket twice, then get her bag checked and go through a metal detector to enter the ballroom.

“I know they’re doing the best they can and that’s a hard situation,” she said of the Secret Service agents.