US authorities have released new footage showing the armed suspect in the shooting at US President Donald Trump’s press dinner running out of a hotel door and crashing through a security checkpoint in just seconds. The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, is charged with attempted murder of the president.
Lore Vanhaelewyn
Journalist at HLN
Source: BBC, The Guardian
LOOK. This is how Cole Allen got past security during the White House press correspondents’ dinner
The footage shows several security officers stationed around a checkpoint with metal detectors in the hotel where the press dinner took place. Suddenly, Allen comes running out of a door with a gun and sprints straight towards the checkpoint.
The images, which are slowed down, then show an officer shooting four times in the direction of the suspect. Federal prosecutors say that’s when Allen opened fire on a Secret Service agent. However, it is not clear from the video whether Allen actually fired a shot himself.
Stumble
According to Sean Curran, the director of the Secret Service, Allen was ultimately stopped not by bullets, but by a stumble. Allen allegedly crashed his knee into a box being used to transport a metal detector, allowing officers to overpower him.
Authorities continue to maintain that Allen fired first, striking the officer. However, that reading is disputed by the suspect’s lawyers. An analysis of security images by ‘The Washington Post’ also raises questions. According to the newspaper, the video shows only four shots, all from the Secret Service agent.
The man is charged with attempted murder of the president, use of a firearm in a violent crime and interstate transportation of weapons to commit a crime. He faces life in prison for the first charge alone.
