Video shows gunman shooting Secret Service officer during Trump assassination attempt
Federal prosecutors have released video which they say shows the suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting opening fire on a U.S. Secret Service officer. Officials said there is no evidence the officer was struck by friendly fire.
The video was released Thursday by the office of U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro and had already been provided to U.S. District Court in the federal case against Cole Tomas Allen, a 31-year-old man from Torrance, California.
Allen is accused of storming a security area with a shotgun at the Washington Hilton on April 25, where the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner was being held. Prosecutors say Allen shot a U.S. Secret Service officer during the attack.
“Today, we are releasing video already provided to U.S. District Court showing Cole Allen shoot a U.S. Secret Service officer during his attempt to assassinate the President at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” Pirro’s office said. “There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire.”
The officer survived because he was wearing a bullet-resistant vest, according to federal prosecutors. Secret Service Director Sean Curran has said Allen shot the officer at point-blank range after breaching the checkpoint.
Prosecutors said the video also shows Allen “casing the area” inside the Hilton Hotel the day before the attack. Court filings have described what officials called weeks of preparation, and photos released by the Justice Department showed Allen armed inside his hotel room before the shooting.
The video release comes after media reports raised questions about whether the officer was struck by friendly fire and after Allen’s attorneys questioned whether the footage clearly shows him firing, citing the lack of a visible muzzle flash and raising questions about ballistic evidence.
The video is a longer, higher-quality version of the same footage shared by President Trump shortly after the assassination attempt. It shows the same moment from the security area at the Washington Hilton, but with additional footage from before and after the shooting.
Allen has been charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump, transporting a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
