"Pirro’s Video Shows White House Shooting Suspect Firing Shotgun at Officer"

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro posted video on May 1 showing the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, firing a shotgun moments before his arrest outside the dinner. The footage, which appears to capture Allen discharging his weapon near the security checkpoint, aligns with the prosecution’s claim that Allen shot at a Secret Service officer. According to the affidavit supporting the criminal complaint, Allen was charged with attempting to assassinate the president, transporting a firearm across state lines, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

The Evidence and the FBI’s Investigation

While Pirro’s video suggests Allen fired his weapon, the FBI has not yet definitively linked the shotgun discharge to the injury of the Secret Service officer. According to reporting from MS NOW on April 28, investigators on the scene believed Allen struck the officer with buckshot, but the fragment that pierced the officer’s bulletproof vest has not been recovered. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed that Allen’s shotgun was discharged but not reloaded, though the exact timing and direction of the shot remain under investigation.

Allen’s path to the checkpoint was swift: hotel surveillance footage shows him descending 10 floors from his room to the Terrace Level, where the final security checkpoint was located. He breached the checkpoint at approximately 8:40 p.m., sprinting toward the ballroom where President Donald Trump and other officials were gathered. Secret Service officers responded by firing five rounds at Allen, who was later subdued. The absence of officers in the stairwell Allen used has raised questions about security protocols at the event.

Key Unanswered Questions

• Was Allen the shooter? While law enforcement on the scene initially believed Allen fired at the officer, the FBI has not recovered the bullet fragment that would confirm this. The affidavit states that Allen’s shotgun was discharged but does not explicitly confirm whether it was fired at the officer.
• How was the officer injured? The bulletproof vest was pierced, but the source of the fragment remains uncertain. Some officials have speculated that Allen’s shotgun was the culprit, but this has not been confirmed.
• Security lapses? The Secret Service is conducting an internal review to determine whether the breach of the final checkpoint could have been prevented. The absence of officers in the stairwell Allen used has been noted as a potential oversight.

What’s Next for the Case

A federal judge privately admonished prosecutors on May 1 for attempting to grandstand during a detention hearing for Allen, according to a CNN report. The judge’s remarks reflect tensions in the case, where prosecutors have aggressively presented their theory of the incident while investigators continue to piece together the details. The FBI and Secret Service are expected to release additional findings as their reviews progress.

Allen’s family, including his parents, are cooperating with investigators, who have also examined his brother’s concerns about Allen’s behavior in the weeks leading up to the incident. The case remains under active investigation, with no final determinations yet made about the exact sequence of events.

Why This Matters

The incident marks the third attempt on President Trump’s life in two years, raising questions about security measures at high-profile events. The White House Correspondents’ Dinner, a long-standing tradition, has become a focal point for discussions about how to prevent such breaches in the future. As the investigation continues, the focus remains on determining whether Allen acted alone and what, if any, security failures contributed to the incident.

For now, the most concrete evidence comes from Pirro’s video and the affidavit, but the FBI’s inability to recover the bullet fragment leaves a critical gap in the official narrative.

Allen was charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, as well as transportation of a firearm over state lines and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence.

U.S. Department of Justice affidavit, April 2026

Sources: U.S. Department of Justice affidavit, MS NOW,