WASHINGTON (VINnews) — A volunteer at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner said a gunman appeared to prepare a weapon in a service area before gunfire broke out near the ballroom entrance, according to media reports.

The witness described the suspect moving from a little-monitored area toward the event space moments before shots were fired, triggering panic as guests and staff fled. The witness said numerous shots rang out, though that account has not been independently verified.

🚨🇺🇸 BREAKING: The suspect in the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California.

-Video has emerged showing someone on the ground with U.S. Secret Service agents inside the Washington Hilton

-Believed to… https://t.co/EOkEIKYxj1 pic.twitter.com/PQoka3QLSR

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 26, 2026

Security personnel responded immediately and moved toward the scene as attendees were evacuated.

President Donald Trump was escorted from the event following the shooting, according to earlier reports.

Authorities have not publicly released a motive, and the circumstances surrounding the shooting remained under investigation late Saturday. The witness account was first reported by the New York Post.