Who is the bomber, a Caltech graduate teacher. Why did he try to shoot Trump?
Law enforcement identified him as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, a teacher and game developer
The man who triggered the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner has been identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 31, a resident of Torrance, near Los Angeles, California. The shooter is a graduate of Caltech, the prestigious California Institute of Technology, with a part-time job as a teacher and video game developer. His residence is in Torrance, near Los Angeles, California.
According to investigators, the bomber was staying at the Washington Hilton Hotel where the shooting occurred.
The motives that drove Allen to such a reckless act remain to be clarified. The man seems to have acted alone and - as Trump stated - left behind a 'manifesto' in which he expressed 'hatred against Christians'. According to CBS, the man's family had alerted the police about the man who had expressed 'an intention to do something'. According to the New York Times, Allen, who had legally bought guns over the past two years, had attacked Trump's policies and spoken of 'violent actions'. Also according to CBS, he had attended anti-Trump rallies and had made a $25 donation to the campaign for Democrat Kamala Harris.
"The man has been caught. They are going to his flat. I believe he lives in California, and he's a sick person, a very sick person, and we don't want things like this to happen," Trump said, speaking of the suspect arrested after the attack in Washington. "A man stormed a security checkpoint, armed with several weapons, and was neutralised by some brave members of the Secret Service," the president added.
The bomber is reported to be a resident of Torrance, California, a coastal city that is part of the South Bay area near Los Angeles, overlooking the Santa Monica Bay.
