A Secret Service member who was shot during the White House correspondents’ dinner was saved when his phone stopped the shooting, according to a report.
The officer, whose name has not been released, was released from the hospital today after the terrifying ordeal at the Washington Hilton.
Footage shows the moment a gunman walked into a Secret Service magnetometer screening area in the hotel lobby. He fired at least one shot, which hit the bulletproof vest of a Secret Service agent.
Incredibly, the shooting was partially stopped by officers’ phones, according to a law-enforcement summary report seen by The Atlantic.
U.S. Secret Service communications chief Anthony Gugliemi said the protective gear likely “helped us avoid a potential tragedy.”
Cole Thomas Allen, 31, has been named as the suspect after gunshots were heard outside a ballroom – holding 2,500 people. donald trumpMelania Trump and JD Vance – for the annual dinner.
The US President described the suspect as a “lone wolf” following the incident at the Washington Hilton Hotel at around 8:35 pm local time (01:35 am UK time) on Saturday night.
Allen was armed with a 12-gauge shotgun, a .38-caliber handgun, and several knives.
Authorities recovered an “anti-Christian” manifesto sent to family members shortly before the attack, in which Allen described himself as a “friendly federal killer.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanch said preliminary findings suggest Allen was possibly targeting administration officials, including the President.
Allen graduated from the prestigious California Institute of Technology University in 2017 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. His LinkedIn profile revealed that the man was a member of the university’s Christian Fellowship as well as the NERF club.
NERF guns are toy weapons that fire soft darts, arrows, and balls, often used by children for play but sometimes popular among adults. Allen was part of the Caltech NERF group as a student in the early 2010s.
Allen will be arraigned in federal court on Monday on charges including assaulting a federal officer, discharging a firearm and possibly attempted murder.
