FBI Still Clueless Who Fired Shot That Hit Secret Service Officer at Trump’s Correspondents’ Dinner Breach

The FBI remains in the dark about who fired the shot that hit a Secret Service officer during a shocking security breach at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner Saturday night, according to sources briefed on the investigation. The incident unfolded just outside the Washington Hilton ballroom where President Donald Trump and senior administration officials were gathered.

Cole Tomas Allen, the suspect, sprinted through the final security checkpoint armed with a shotgun, prompting a Secret Service officer to fire five rounds at him. Allen was charged with attempted assassination of the president, among other offenses. Yet investigators have not recovered the bullet or fragments that struck the officer’s bulletproof vest, leaving open how Allen was injured or if he fired his weapon at all.

Law enforcement officials believe Allen discharged a shotgun shell but did not reload. Video footage shows Allen descending a stairwell from his hotel room ten floors above and rushing the checkpoint with no hesitation. The stairwell was unguarded, as Secret Service protocols do not require agents in stairwells outside metal detector zones at public hotels.

Allen was reportedly running at nine miles per hour before stumbling near the checkpoint, raising questions about how he could have stopped and fired backward at pursuing officers. After he fell, agents subdued him, but confusion on the scene led some to initially think Allen had been shot by law enforcement.

Allen’s family is cooperating with the FBI, revealing growing concerns about his escalating violent rhetoric in recent weeks. Meanwhile, the Secret Service has launched a Mission Assurance Review to investigate potential security lapses and recommend improvements.

This breach is the third in less than two years where an armed individual intent on killing Trump has penetrated the perimeter protecting him. A July 2024 incident saw a college student fire from a rooftop at a Trump rally, grazing the president and killing a bystander.

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has demanded urgent meetings with Secret Service and Homeland Security officials to tighten security ahead of upcoming high-profile events. The failure to prevent this breach and the ongoing mystery of who fired the shot that hit an officer underscore serious vulnerabilities in the president’s protection detail. The stakes could not be higher.