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FBI At Los Angeles Area Home Linked to Suspect in Shooting at Gala Attended by Trump; Man in Custody After Shots Fired at Gala Trump Attended; Trump Safe After Shots Fired at Correspondents' Dinner. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired April 26, 2026 - 03:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[03:00:00]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to all of our viewers joining us here to the United States and all around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York where it's 3:00 A.M., midnight on the West Coast, and that is where the FBI is currently gathering outside of a Southern California home that is allegedly linked to the suspect who's believed to have opened fire at a gala that was attended by the U.S. president.

The home, it is in Torrance, which is in the Los Angeles area. And this comes just hours after the suspect was apprehended in Washington, D.C., following that shooting. A Secret Service official accusing him of trying to create a national tragedy at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

And you just saw that very moment where what sounded like gunfire sent people ducking for cover inside the ballroom. The president, his cabinet, as well as journalists in attendance, everybody's safe at this hour, Donald Trump posting this security footage that was shot outside of the ballroom. And in it, you can see that armed man basically speeding through that security checkpoint in the lobby. Shots were exchanged before the Secret Service was able to capture him.

Police say that he was carrying a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives. This is an image that was posted on the account on the Truth Social account of the president. Two sources familiar with the matter telling CNN that the suspect's name is Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old from California. Trump says that authorities believed that he acted alone.

President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, and other members of Trump's cabinet, they were rushed out of that area as that shooting unfolded. These are the very moments.

Later at the White House, the president praising the response of the Secret Service and also referencing his previous attempts on his life. Speaking to reporters, he also delivered a very rare message of unity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: This was an event dedicated to freedom of speech that was supposed to bring together members of both parties with members of the press. And in a certain way it did because the fact that they just unified -- I saw a room that was just totally unified. It was, in one way, very beautiful, a very beautiful thing to see.

A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service, and they acted very quickly.

Everyone owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the courage of law enforcement, the law enforcement, and working with the D.C. police and just spoke with the mayor. And when we're finished, the police chief is going to take over and discuss it also from their viewpoint. But they also performed exactly as they were supposed to. And you see the attacker in different positions, but you also see the attacker totally subdued and under control.

So, as you know, this is not the first time in the past couple of years that our republic has been attacked by a would-be assassin who sought to kill in Butler, Pennsylvania, less than two years ago. You know all know that story. And in Palm Beach, Florida, a few months after that, we came close.

We really had -- again, we had some great work done by law enforcement. But in light of this evening's events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts in resolving our difference peacefully. We have to resolve our differences.

I will say you had Republicans, Democrats, independents, conservatives, liberals, and progressives. Those words are interchangeable perhaps, but maybe they're not. But yet everybody in that room, big crowd, record-setting crowd, there was a record-setting group of people. And there was a tremendous amount of love and coming together.

I watched, and I was very, very impressed by that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:05:01]

SANDOVAL: All right. Let's get the latest on the investigation now and head live to Washington, D.C., and my colleague, Brian Todd, is following the latest.

Brian, so we're now getting our first look at the situation unfolding right now in California with FBI agents at a home linked to the suspect. What else are you learning about him?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, Polo. Well, according to our sources, at least two law enforcement sources who we spoke to, he has identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31 years old from Torrance, California, as Polo alluded to a short time ago. And you saw that video, FBI agents were at the home believed to be associated with Cole Tomas Allen in Torrance.

A little unclear what kind of activity is going on there, very late at night, of course, in the Los Angeles area at this moment, but that video that -- those images there that you see on the screen just a short time ago from Torrance, California, from the alleged suspect's home, or at least a home that is being linked to him at this time.

What we can also tell you was that, according to the interim Washington D.C. Police chief, Jeffrey Carroll, the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives, and that he exchanged gunfire with law enforcement officers at that moment, at that police, at that law enforcement checkpoint at the Washington Hilton.

Also Interim Police Chief Carroll saying to reporters that they believe that the suspect may have been a guest at the Washington Hilton, and that they have secured a room there to determine what is inside.

Now, that's a critical piece of information at this hour because it certainly could speak to the idea of how he could have gotten all those weapons as close as he did.

Now, of course, the layers of security worked, according to the Secret Service director, Sean Curran, as you see the video there of him rushing past and the officers engaging him. But, you know, the questions will come up, of course, as to how he got that many weapons into the hotel and how he got them that close.

Now, we do have to point out, I was at the hotel a short time ago this evening following the shooting, just kind of looking at the layout of everything there and how and where all of this occurred. The shooting occurred on the second level of the set of lobby areas in the Washington Hilton.

There's a top level that's at street level where Connecticut Avenue comes in. That's the main entrance to the Washington Hilton. Then just down the escalator, there's a second kind of mid-level lobby area, and one floor below that is the ballroom where President Trump and the guests were.

The shooting actually occurred on that middle level. So, we do have to point out that the gunman was not on the same level of the hotel as President Trump was. He was just one level above the president at that moment.

But, again, questions are going to be raised, of course, as to how and why the weapons got there and got as close as they did. But the information that he may have been a guest at the hotel may start to answer some of those questions.

Some other things that we're learning, Polo, about this suspect, according to public records he worked as a teacher and a video game developer. According to his LinkedIn profile, at least a LinkedIn profile matching his name and photograph, it described him as a part- time teacher at C2 Education. That is a tutoring prep company, a tutoring and -- excuse me, a tutoring and test prep company. C2 named him as the company's teacher of the month in December of 2024, according to public records. CNN has reached out to the C2 company for any other information and comment on this. We've not heard back from them on that.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Allen graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 2017 with a degree -- bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, that he got a master's degree in computer science at Cal State University in Dominguez Hills last year.

According to FEC records, he donated $25 to Kamala Harris' presidential campaign in 2024. He also in his LinkedIn profile, described himself as a video game developer and he appears to have published an indie game called Bohrdom, spelled B-O-H-R-D-O-M, which was for sale on the Steam gaming platform.

Some additional information we can give you this morning, Polo. This comes from the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., Jeanine Pirro, as far as the possible charges that the suspect could face, as you see an image of him lying there shirtless on the ground in handcuffs on the floor of the Washington Hilton lobby area there.

According to Jeanine Pirro, he is going to face at least two charges, one of them being using a firearm during a crime of violence, and the other one being assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon.

We have inquired early this morning, Polo, with the Metropolitan Washington Police Department, with the Secret Service and with the Office of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, to ask about a possible motive for this incident. We have not heard back from them yet on that. Of course, we're going to be digging heavily on that in the coming hours and days. Polo?

SANDOVAL: So many important questions that you raised too, Brian, including that one that you mentioned, which is how did he get his hands on a shotgun in a pistol in Washington, D.C., home to some of the strictest gun laws in the country?

[03:10:07]

Brian, thank you so much for following the story into the night.

(INAUDIBLE) and she explains exactly how everything unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I had eyes on the President as we were watching. I mean, it was a remarkable moment. There was no programming going on. As you know, we were seated at our tables, and then obviously Secret Service and law enforcement rushed into the room in a way that I have never seen in my life, coming down the main aisle.

And in that time though, the president was still on stage for another 20 seconds probably. Because I looked over, he and the first lady were speaking to Oz, the Mentalist, who was supposed to be the entertainment during tonight's show. And then, obviously, they were rushed off stage. We saw the vice president rushed off.

It took a little bit though before other cabinet secretaries were removed from the room. I could see the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent. I could see the health secretary, RFK Jr., before he was taken out by security. The education secretary was literally seated right next to me during the dinner and was crouched on the floor with us as we were essentially waiting to see was the threat clear.

And so when we were here in the briefing room tonight, obviously, as you noted, Jim, the president is no stranger to this, given he himself has been the target of two assassination attempts. And I asked the president whether or not his team that was here tonight had heard of any potential warnings or concerns of threats before the dinner took place.

Were you aware of any threats were, is your team aware of any threats beforehand and do you believe you were the target of this tonight?

TRUMP: I guess. I mean, these people, they're crazy. They're crazy. And, you know, you never know. It was very far away from me. He had to go through a lot. We had resources all over. We had resources sitting at tables, literally in disguise, sitting maybe at your table. Who knows? But we had people all over the room, so he had a long way to go. That was really a first line of defense. And they got him. And they really -- you know, they acted incredibly. No, we've had no -- there was no notification. We had no idea.

The president saying there, there was no notification ahead of time in terms of threats to him. Obviously, he is someone who has an intense amount of security around him, wherever he goes, and so do all of the officials that I just mentioned that were seated around the room, including, as you know, Jim, top lawmakers, like the House speaker, Mike Johnson.

And so, obviously, the president said he would keep us updated in terms of that. He also used the moment to tout his White House ballroom that he's building that has been the subject of lawsuits and criticism here at the White House because there are security components to it as well. They're basically reconstructing the bunker underneath. He's talked out the security with the walls, the windows, all of that, and he was basically arguing that tonight is evidence of why something like that is needed, as we were hearing from the top officials here in terms of the job that law enforcement did.

I will say the president was asked about. Secret Service and whether or not he thought that they were doing a good job tonight, both he said yes. So did the new DHS secretary, Markwayne Mullin, as well, as obviously there are still so many questions that remain about how this person, who D.C. Police confirmed was a guest at that hotel, where you see, Jim, when you're going down to the terrace level, where you go and check in with your security with the magnetometers, there are regular guests just seated there watching everyone. It's an event here in Washington. There's a lot of people who go and watch to see who comes in. And, obviously, this person was a hotel guest.

And so a lot of questions still going forward about the motivation and the planning that went into this attempted attack as the gunman came in tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right. Thanks to Kaitlan Collins for all of her reporting on Saturday night.

And earlier, I did have a chance to speak to a retired Secret Service agent, Jeffrey James, for further insight as this investigation moves forward.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFFREY JAMES (RET.), ASSISTANT SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: I will tell you it, I don't have a lot of questions right now just because it seems like, from my experience, everything worked. The gunman was never able to breach the perimeter. The communication down to the level where the president was was incredibly fast because you saw how quickly they reacted to remove him and the vice president, and as you mentioned earlier, all the cabinet members.

Had there been a delay, had the gunman gotten past the metal detectors and breached the perimeter where the president was, I would have a lot more questions. But it seemed like to me everything worked pretty well for this. This isn't something new that we've seen. And I believe in July of 1998, you saw the same thing happened at the Capitol when a Capitol police officer was killed, that when people approached the metal detectors and they realized, all right, this is where I'm going to get caught with this weapon, that's when they launch their attack. So, this isn't something new that we've seen.

SANDOVAL: And, Jeffrey, one of the things that really stuck out to me is once we heard from D.C. officials laying out what they knew at that point, which is that they suspect that this individual was actually a guest at that hotel.

[03:15:04]

Was this the fact that, again, based on the preliminary information and the fact that not only was a guest at a hotel in a building that was hosting the president, the first lady and the rest of the cabinet, but he not only had access to various weapons, multiple weapons, in the same building that was hosting the president.

So, I'm curious that now to your earlier point, certainly that layer of security did the job and was able to stop him from making any further progress. But what do you think might be in the future reassessment of the Secret Service when they look at this incident, some of the questions that they will perhaps want answered in terms of how they can expand that security bubble to prevent somebody from accessing weapons in that same building.

JAMES: Well, so many of the places that the president and vice president go are public areas to include Mar-a-Lago, Bedminster, New Jersey. They're working golf courses where there's weddings and other events like that. And the president always goes to hotels. He goes to the Super Bowl, right? It's impossible for us to screen every person that's going to come in there.

And we also have to allow commerce to happen, like we don't want to shut down that entire hotel. I do believe you'll probably see perimeters pushed out a little farther. I think it's super smart the way we've always done it at the Washington Hilton to have the checkpoint on a different level than the president's going to be.

But to the idea that I've heard tossed about on by some folks of, hey, they got to screen everybody that comes and goes into the hotel, something like that's almost impossible, and especially if it's a large event that's going to be something like a professional sporting event or something like that, you simply can't screen everyone that comes and goes. You isolate the president in a certain area, you cordon that off, and that's where everybody gets screened.

SANDOVAL: Jeffrey, I'm sure you heard the president say from the briefing room that he wants this event to take place perhaps in the next 30 days. Do you see that as a realistic possibility?

JAMES: Absolutely. We saw him come back to Butler, Pennsylvania, after the after the assassination attempt there. And I would tell you, you know, the president -- for my entire career, the president, vice president, they go where they want to go. There were times in my career where we said, hey, this probably isn't a good idea and the president listened to us, but for the most part, they're going to go where they go and we need to make it as safe as the White House is everywhere he goes.

You're going to see enhanced security when he goes back. I guarantee that. Probably -- it's going to be probably wider perimeters, things like that. But if the president says he wants to go, he's going to go.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right, thanks to Jeffrey James.

The latest on our breaking news when we return, the suspect in custody and the U.S. president and his cabinet are safe after shots were fired during the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington. After the break, you'll hear from a photojournalist who captured some of the dramatic moments.

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SANDOVAL: I want to get you back to our top story at this hour. A 31- year-old suspected gunman is facing at least two criminal charges after shots were fired at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington, D.C., Saturday night, and that's where President Donald Trump was set to speak.

Let me show you what is currently the scene in Torrance, California. That's where police and the FBI have descended on a home that's linked to the suspect as police try to piece together this investigation and establish a motive. The interim Washington, D.C. Police chief says that the suspect that was actually charged a Secret Service checkpoint running through it at high speed and eventually exchanging gunfire with law enforcement officers before he was captured.

President Trump and the first lady, they were safely rushed from the stage of the main ballroom after gunshots rang out just outside, cabinet members and various journalists who were all in the room, all of them unharmed. President Trump also spoke to reporters a little later from the White House briefing room.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: How does this event impact you as the leader of our country? Do you think it will change your relationship?

TRUMP: I like not to think about it. I live a pretty normal life considering, you know, it's a dangerous life. I think I handle it as well as it can be handled. I think a lot of other people, you know, you read stories where they become basket cases, to be honest with you. I'm not a basket case. I take this -- I really take it as it is. I do it for the country. I'm not doing it for any other reason.

I have the first lady who's doing a terrific job. She loves the country. And she recognizes it better than anybody. She's told me numerous times, she said, you are in a dangerous job. But that goes along with her too. I mean, it's dangerous for her too. We sat there tonight, we heard that noise and it was either a tray or a bullet. I was hoping it was a tray, but it wasn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Let's get some more insight now and hear from another journalist who was inside the room. I want to bring an Associated Press Photojournalist Alex Brandon, who was at the dinner. He took some photos of the chaotic scene as well as the moment that law enforcement grabbed their suspect.

Alex, welcome to CNN. Thank you for taking the time.

ALEX BRANDON, PHOTOJOURNALIST, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Thank you very much for having me. I'm thrilled to be here.

SANDOVAL: Alex, before we -- we're glad you're okay. Before we go through some of your shots, I wonder if you could just set the scene. You know, I've had the pleasure of speaking to many photojournalists and they always tell me how they instinctively grab their cameras anytime they hear, you know, potential gunfire. What was that moment like for you?

BRANDON: You know, I was with my colleagues at the table. I had arrived late. I literally poured half a glass of wine, had one sip, and was talking to my colleague and I hear what sounds like to me is gunshots. And immediately people begin to duck under tables and he and I just stood straight up. And I pulled up my phone. I wish I'd had my camera. I wish I'd had my camera. I pulled up my phone and immediately started taking pictures of the president, because in that moment, my job is to keep my eye on the president.

SANDOVAL: Yes. We're showing some video from another journalist in the room just to set the scene, but let's show our viewers some of the stills from your phone camera, and perhaps you could just tell me a little bit about what you were seeing.

[03:25:00]

I know -- we're going to show a couple of the shots that are directly focused on the stage. And almost when you go through your photos frame by frame, you see how the drama unfolds. You see the moment that Secret Service agents in their black tie jump on the stage one moment, and then in the next frame, the president is gone.

BRANDON: Absolutely. I could see the president -- you know, I'm in the back of the room, so he's a little smaller than I would like to have him in the frame if we're going to fix things. But I see the Secret Service agents come out. And then I also hear other agents, and I'm not sure who they are, but their law enforcement. And, you know, afterwards, I've subsequently understood that those were for other protectees, not the president, as they're going to their protectees down the center aisle.

Then the counter assault team comes out. Those are the officers that look like they're in SWAT uniforms with long guns and helmets. Those guys come out and that's when I know that we have a legitimate incident.

SANDOVAL: What do you remember happening next? Were -- did you see other, you know, of your fellow journalists also doing the same and basically springing in directly into action from enjoying a glass of wine to documenting what was happening?

BRANDON: I mean, that's exactly right. We started to do that and when the president had left, I made a few more frames of the counter assault team controlling the stage and platform. And then my colleague said, I've got no signal in here. That room is well-known in this town. We're having some the worst cell phone signals in the modern era.

So, he left and I lost track of him until hours later. I made a few more frames and then I quickly went to the nearest door to exit the room. And was very fortunate that happened to be the production area for the video feed that we all saw part of that during and afterwards.

SANDOVAL: And we know so many people, their first view of the suspect was in one of the shots that you snapped. Obviously, eventually, the president would share some stills as well that the president received on his Truth account. But when you see the photo and you see authorities basically hovering over a suspect, hands tied behind his back, when did you come upon the scene and what did it -- what were you hearing from your vantage point? BRANDON: That was absolutely fascinating. I went out that doorway to a set of stairs that went up to a landing and then there was another, it kind of split and went to more stairs. And I got part of the way up the stairs and I could see them putting yellow crime scene tape up, which I've seen for, you know, decades in my career. So, that's when I knew that whatever had happened, it happened right there.

And so I went a little higher on the stairs and there was a gentleman recording video next to me and he says, I think I can see him on the floor. And he said, scoot over this way a little bit. And so I scoot over a little bit and sure enough, there underneath a Mylar blanket was the suspect.

You know, he was able in his video to see that the suspect's head was moving because we'd heard rumors that the suspect had been -- was fatally shot, you know, later learning that he was indeed alive. But to come up the top of those steps and be able to zoom in and see the suspect was, I was stunned. I was absolutely stunned.

SANDOVAL: You know, it's telling for a seasoned photojournalist to -- you've probably photographed your share of tragedy and violent incidents. And then I have, you're out for an evening among colleagues and then this happens. But, fortunately, you and our colleagues, everybody else there including law enforcement are okay tonight.

BRANDON: Indeed.

SANDOVAL: Alex Brandon, thank you so much for documenting that.

BRANDON: Thank you so much for having me.

SANDOVAL: Thank you.

President Trump praising the Secret Service after the shooting at this Washington Hotel. When we come back, a look at the security response with a retired FBI special agent.

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[03:30:00]

SANDOVAL: And welcome back to CNN Newsroom. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York.

And we continue our breaking news coverage of the shooting that took place in Washington, D.C., on Saturday night, a 31-year-old man currently in custody after shooting, after a shooting at a gala that was attended by the U.S. president.

You could see that moment people posing on the red carpet when what sounded like gunfire was heard in the lobby of that hotel. Donald Trump and members of his cabinet, they were rushed out of the ballroom and all of this happening in that hotel in Washington. Authorities believed that the suspect acted alone.

Public records are showing that he worked as a teacher and video game developer in Southern California. This is a photo that was posted on the president's Truth Social account.

Following the shooting President Trump, taking questions from reporters at the White House. Here's part of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REPORTER: Are you concerned about political violence, this could be politically motivated?

TRUMP: All violence. I'm concerned about everything. But I can't be so concerned that you can't function. No, I'm here. It's a dangerous profession. You know, I tell the story, race car drivers, I think it's very dangerous. So, if you take 1 percent and then take about 10 percent of 1 percent, just to break it down very easily, they die, so much less than 1 percent, 10 percent of 1 percent.

I think bull riding is very dangerous, if you take about the same, 10 percent of 1 percent, much less than 1 percent.

[03:35:02]

But if you take presidents, it's 5.8 percent and about 8 percent are shot at.

So, nobody told me this was such a dangerous profession. If Marco would have told me, maybe I wouldn't have run, maybe I would've said, I'll take a pass. No, it's a dangerous profession, but I don't view it that way.

Look, I'm here to do a job. That's part of the job. It is a dangerous. I can't imagine that there's any profession that's more dangerous, but I love the country and I'm very proud. I'm very proud of the job we've done. You see what's happened. We have a great country. We've got, I think, the most successful, the hottest country anywhere in the world. This happened over a period of just a year, and we're going to do great things. But with that come risks, there's no question about it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And in the last hour, I had a chance to speak to my colleague, Elex Michaelson, who was inside that ballroom at that dinner. Here's how he described the moments leading up to the shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: From where I was sitting, I did not hear gunshots for anything like that. I mean, it was, it's a very large room, the largest ballroom in all of Washington. That's why they host the event. There were thousands of people inside. They had just said that dinner was about to be served. It was a lot of conversation and all around, and then all of a sudden you see these, officers coming in, running in, and then people -- you know, calling for people to duck under the table, and it was unclear what was happening. And I'm thinking, are we having a shooting? Is this a drill? Did somebody like drop a plate? And all of a sudden we're seeing this overreaction. And then you look towards the stage and you see the vice president of the United States being pulled off and President Trump being pulled away and sort of stumbling a bit as officers are on top of him trying to get him out of there and other folks with weapons coming in all directions.

And then you look around and then you see more officers coming in to start removing cabinet secretaries from one table and the speaker of the House from another table and the House majority leader from another table, all being taken out and sort of a wave of people coming in. And we went from this moment of celebration where people were drinking and in tuxedos and dresses and having a great time to this moment of panic, and really not knowing, Polo, what had happened there. There was very little information and sort of sitting around. They said that the room was closed so nobody could leave. The internet was not good. The cell service was not good.

And we were all wondering, you know, is there an active threat? Was anybody killed? Is the president, okay? And all these journalists kind of had no idea what was happening. It was a remarkable moment, sort of unlike anything we've seen in our history.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right. Thanks to Elex Michaelson for walking us through what happened.

Let's now go to Richard Kolko. He's a retired FBI supervisory special agent. Richard, thanks for joining us again.

RICHARD KOLKO (RET.), FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Of course, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Richard, as a seasoned federal law enforcement officer, I'm just curious if you could just help me really emphasize just that the extraordinary nature of what we all saw play out on Saturday night, I mean, for people around the world who may have been watching these pictures, I mean, what was your reaction when you saw what was happening?

KOLKO: How fast everybody reacted, how the training kicked in. These officers agents, uniform division, they train and train, and in reality, they think they're never going to have to use, you know, most of that training. But when the bell rings and they need to do it, they answered that bell.

You saw how quickly they were able to get around the president and how quickly they were able to get the principal out of harm's way, shut down the facility and completely do everything they were supposed to do.

SANDOVAL: We're now seeing some pictures too coming out of California where FBI agents are currently at a home that's linked to the suspect in Saturday's shooting. If you could just bring us up to speed on what are some of those questions that they're trying to answer as they tried to build up a profile on the suspect that, you know, fortunately for him and for the investigation, he is still alive, so they can still speak to him. But what are some of the sort of the material evidence that they're after right now and the witness accounts?

KOLKO: Well, the evidence is, of course, what's necessary if and when this ends up in a courtroom or a plea, but that's down the road. What they're looking for here now is any conspirators, co-conspirators, was somebody else aware of this? Had he made people aware of what his intentions were?

This obviously was not a spur of the moment decision on his part. He had to plan this out.

[03:40:00]

He had to travel across the country. He had to make a hotel reservation. I don't know if he drove or if he flew, you know, an airline reservation. So, he planned this out to some extent or to a great extent.

And all of that is going to be fascinating and interesting and important to law enforcement as they put together a full workup on this person and know what their background was. They're even going to look at the strange possibility of was he recruited? Did somebody ask him to do this? They've got to rule a lot of that out. So, they're sitting there writing a long list of things that they need to do. They're going to be issuing subpoenas for communications, for finances, for travel, for all kinds of records.

It's not going to happen overnight but they're going to get this more and more information over the next couple days. Hopefully, we'll have a better picture of what law enforcement is looking at, why did this person do this, was there somebody else involved, I mean, something as simple as if he did come up in a car was somebody riding with him. Did he go to the airport? Did somebody drive him to the airport and ask him, well, what are you going to be doing in Washington, D.C.? All of that is going to be important information as they build up this whole workup on him.

SANDOVAL: Sure. And you and I in the last hour spoke about the unique set of challenges that come with securing what is typically public venues, right, stadiums, or in this case a hotel that is going to host the president of the United States. How surprised were you when -- you know, when we all learned that this individual was a guest at that hotel and how that may have possibly helped him introduce weapons into that space?

KOLKO: Well, that made me think back to the -- if you remember the -- of course, I remember the 2017 shooting in Las Vegas. Stephen Paddock was his name, who'd gone into the hotel there and shot up that concert and killed dozens and dozens of people. And they went and reviewed that video and they saw him moving all the gun cases into the hotel. So, that wasn't picked up on at the time or, frankly, probably wasn't illegal, but certainly it's suspicious.

So, in this case, you know that the Secret Service runs all the names of the people that are checked into the hotel, or people that have reservations, maybe even people that have reservations but don't show up. They want to know as much as they can about all the people that are going to be surrounding the president and this kind of high- profile target.

And I heard one of your earlier guests or one of the earlier guests on CNN, a Secret Service agent saying the president gets to decide where he is going to go. The Secret Service would rather lock him up in the White House. Every president say he can't go anywhere. That's the safest thing you can do, but that's not how politics works. The president has to be out and about, and it's a Secret Service job to respond and provide that protection. And, in fact, that's exactly what they did tonight.

SANDOVAL: Yes. And as we learned from D.C. Metro is that the suspect was not known to them before that. So, even a search probably would not have led them to a flag.

KOLKO: I think it's too early to tell on that as well as the proclamation that it's a lone wolf. I just think more investigation needs to be done before we can be so definitive with those statements. Again, if he went to the airport in California, somebody drove him to the airport, even an Uber driver, you know, oh, what are you going to be doing in Washington, D.C.? What w what was his answer? As an investigator, I would want to know what that was. I would want to know what his mindset was. What was he thinking? What was he traveling with? Who was he traveling with? There's just a -- there's a lot more to this than just proclaiming it's a lone wolf and working alone and things like that. And that's what -- that's exactly what investigation is for.

SANDOVAL: It is so important to keep all that in mind as that investigation presses forward.

Richard Kolko, as always, thank you so much for letting us tap into your expertise as a retired FBI agent. Thank you.

KOLKO: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: And the latest on our breaking news. When we return, we'll be hearing from CNN's Wolf Blitzer, who was near the gunman, just a few feet, when those shots rang out at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington,

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[03:45:00]

SANDOVAL: And we continue our breaking news coverage. I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York. The suspected gunman who set off a chaotic scene at the White House Correspondents' Dinner is currently in custody. The photo you're looking at shows the suspect, the image posted on Donald Trump's Truth Social account on Saturday night.

Sources are saying that he's identified as Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, man in his 30s. He worked as a teacher and video game developer. Officials now looking into a possible motive. Washington, D.C. Police say that the 31-year-old man raced through this Secret Service security checkpoint just outside the gala's main ballroom, and then exchanged gunfire with law enforcement on the scene.

President Trump and the first lady, they were both rushed to safety, along with the vice president who was on the stage, as well as other cabinet officials who were in the audience.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer, are a longtime attendee of this event, says that he was just a few feet from the gunman. He'd actually stepped out into the lobby when the gunfire rang out. Listen as Wolf describes what unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: After he started shooting, police officers were -- threw him to the ground but he was still shooting. And I could hear the shots going off. It was very frightening. I was on the ground too, because the police officer was on top of me trying to protect me in case, you know, one of the bullets could get near me, which it didn't.

But I can't describe the gunman. I have no idea what, if any, motive this individual may have had. But the sense I got is that. The police who were there and there were a lot of police there, took care of him relatively quickly. And the incident looks like it's over, but it was a very frightening incident. And out of an abundant of caution, I'm sure they're taking other precautions right now.

I see not only a lot of police officers near me right now, but a lot of military personnel as well, just standing, and they're all armed and ready to go if anything else happens right now. But it looks like that one incident is over, at least for now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: All right. Thanks to Wolf Blitzer for his reporting through the night.

And we'll be back with more of your breaking news coverage in a moment.

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[03:50:00]

SANDOVAL: I do want to get into some of these is just coming into CNN. A U.S. Secret Service officer who was shot on Saturday evening at the White House Correspondents' Dinner has been released from the hospital, and that's according to the Secret Service chief of communications. The FBI has gathered outside of the home in Los Angeles of a man who allegedly opened fire at that gala. It was attended by the U.S. president.

Donald Trump posting this footage of the shooting in Washington during the White House Correspondents' Dinner and it shows a suspect trying to run through this security checkpoint at the lobby. In the process, as we mentioned, that Secret Service agent taking a shot in one of his -- in the vest that he was wearing. Shots were exchanged before Secret Service agents were able to capture him.

And if you were inside the ballroom with the president, that's what you heard, the sound of what appeared to be gun gunshots. It sent officials and journalists in that ballroom ducking for cover, many of them going under their tables as the Secret Service moved in. President Trump, other officials, also the first lady, all quickly evacuated from the ballroom.

Unfortunately, all those in attendance, they are safe at this hour and that, again, that wounded Secret Service agent has been released after taking a shot in his protective vest.

[03:55:04]

For some more context on the incident, CNN spoke to Presidential Historian Douglas Brinkley just a short time ago. Though motive has not been established in Saturday's shooting, my colleague, Jim Sciutto, asked this historian about the attempt on Ronald Reagan's life at the very same hotel about 40 years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Well, of course, it's always going to be linked in history. Anytime anybody really goes and tours around Washington, D.C., they point out where Ronald Reagan was shot, rushed to George Washington Hospital, came near death. Hinckley, we know, who was the attempted assassin. And, you know, people don't realize Reagan's the only president in American history to have been shot as president and stayed on in office.

This evening, you heard Donald Trump mention Abraham Lincoln and presidents that were shot. But Reagan's unique in that way. And I think we also have to pull back and realize Donald Trump now is one of these figures in history that's had two major assassination attempts against his life. And that's a very small group, but it includes people like Harry Truman and Gerald Ford, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama. Many of them -- you know, Bill Clinton had three attempts on his, but history kind of forgets some of those sometimes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Thank you so much for joining me in the last hour. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. I'll be right back with you with our continuing breaking news coverage in a moment.

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