Cole Tomas Allen, the man accused in the White House correspondents’ dinner shooting, is a 31-year-old from Torrance, California, with a strong academic and technical background.
He holds a master’s degree in computer science from California State University-Dominguez Hills and a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology.
Professionally, Allen worked for six years at C2 Education, a tutoring and test-prep company, where he was even named “teacher of the month” in 2024.
Online profiles suggest he was also an amateur game developer, creating a chemistry-based game for Steam and working on a space combat shooter.
He is also known to have donated a small amount to the Democrats in 2024.
Overall, Allen appears to have been a highly educated tutor and programmer before the incident.
Published on April 27, 2026