On the surface, the Allen family appeared to epitomize the quintessential American dream: a closely-knit, devoutly religious family whose four children consistently earned accolades for their exceptional academic achievements and commendable character, as noted by neighbors.

This pristine image was unexpectedly shattered over the weekend when the eldest son, Cole Allen, 31, was accused of attempting to shoot President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner held in Washington, DC.

This shocking incident has left those who knew the Allens questioning where things went awry for Cole.

Shannon McKinney, a family friend, described them to the Daily Mail as “a loving, two-parent family.” Rosalia Hernandez, a former neighbor, recalled Cole as a delightful little boy from age three, coming from a well-adjusted family, although she hadn’t spoken to him in years.

By any standard, the alleged shooter had a promising life. He earned a master’s degree in computer science, worked as a mechanical engineer, and also tutored part-time.

However, living in the shadow of his high-achieving younger siblings, raised by a teacher mother and a church leader father, may have posed its own challenges.

Cole’s youngest sister, Stephanie, now around 23, was just an undergraduate at Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California, when she joined a new Department of Energy-funded team working on particle accelerators and dark matter.

The project took her to the National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford, where she conducted experiments with electron beams used to help treat cancer, according to a write-up by the lab.

The Allen family, including from left, sisters Avriana and Stephanie and brother Gabriel, has been known locally as a loving, church-going family, but are now grappling with the unthinkable after son Cole’s alleged actions

Allen, 31, who earned his masters degree in computer science and worked as a mechanical engineer and part-time tutor – is accused of opening fire as the President gathered with senior cabinet members and thousands of journalists for the annual event on Saturday night

Cole’s younger brother Gabriel, 25, got into the hyper-selective Webb Institute in New York which accepts fewer than 30 students a year to study naval architecture and marine engineering.

At his 2023 graduation he was awarded for ‘excellence’ in his senior thesis, noted for his ‘ethical behavior’, and ‘for working unselfishly and in harmony with classmates’.

Gabriel is also successfully building his own family, after moving to New London, Connecticut around 2024.

He and his wife Ashley, whom he married last July, were expecting their first child to be born this month, according to their wedding registry.

It would be easy for the loving couple’s American Dream to have fueled feelings of inadequacy in older brother Cole, who instead was living at his parents’ home and had been spending large amounts of his free time getting to competitive levels at the Nintendo video-game Super Smash Bros., according to his extensive YouTube videos.

And while Cole railed against Trump and other Republicans on his Blue Sky social media account, the elder of his two sisters systematically worked on informing voters of their choices.

Avriana, 27, graduated from Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism and bagged a job at nonprofit newsroom CalMatters as a web developer, building interactive voter guides for the 2021 recall election, the 2022 midterms, and the 2024 presidential race.

She now works at the Pew Research Center in Washington, DC.

Allen was ‘tackled to the ground’ and handcuffed by law enforcement after he allegedly broke through a security checkpoint and opened fire at the lobby of the Washington Hilton Saturday evening

Secret service agents responded to gunfire at the lobby, during the White House Correspondents Dinner, on Saturday, April 25

Cole shared his sister’s affinity for software, tinkering with the programming language C++ to build a video game inspired by the field of Chemistry and the structure of atoms.

But the game failed to receive a wide audience, receiving just a handful of reviews on gaming site Steam before Saturday’s shooting.

In the past 48 hours, dozens of users chimed in on Steam, mocking Allen with thinly veiled jabs and puns about his alleged failed attack.

‘Decided to pull the trigger, and give this game a shot,’ said one. ‘I look forward to this developers next project, whenever that appears. Probably in about 25 years to life.’

‘Boring,’ said another. ‘Makes you feel like bringing a rifle to a press correspondence [sic] dinner.’

A third cut to the chase: ‘The game isn’t very good.’

Both Avriana and Gabriel showed no compunction turning in their brother, according to reports of their conversations with law enforcement.

After receiving a copy of Cole’s alleged manifesto just minutes before the shooting, Gabriel called police, Connecticut law enforcement confirmed on Sunday.

And when Secret Service agents and Maryland police showed up at Avriana’s door, she reportedly told them an incriminating story about her brother.

During his time at Caltech, Allen (left) listed his involvement in the Caltech Christian Fellowship and the Caltech Nerf Club

The Allen family are seen with Allen, second from right, together with brother Gabriel, his mother Kathy, father, Thomas, and sisters Stephanie and Avriana

The Torrance, California residence connected to Cole Allen, the suspected gunman at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner 

She said Cole had secretly stashed two guns at his parents’ home and had started expressing extreme political views, along with a plan to tackle his perceived problems with modern society.

In his rambling 1,052-word manifesto, signed ‘Friendly Federal Assassin’, he apologized to potential victims, railed against Trump, and bragged about slipping past security at the DC hotel where he stayed the night before the shooting.

The son of a retired evangelical church leader wrote that, ‘Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior,’ adding: ‘This was the best timing and chance of success I could come up with.’

Family friend Shannon McKinney, who went to college with Cole’s mother Kathleen, expressed her bewilderment that the Allens could have raised such a black sheep.

‘They are a loving, two-parent family,’ she said. ‘They are religious… I don’t understand.’

Former neighbor Rosalia Hernandez recalled Cole as a sweet little boy playing in their quiet suburban neighborhood in Torrance, California.

Cole Allen (left), alongside his siblings Gabriel, Stephanie and Avriana

On a photo posted on Facebook by Kathleen showing Cole’s graduation from his masters degree at California State University last year, Rosalia wrote: ‘Awww, they’re all grown up!! My little Cole is now a young man.’

Martin Henry, one current neighbor on Gramercy Avenue where Cole lived with his parents, said they were friendly and polite but kept to themselves, occasionally waving when they did yard work, or commenting on the bird life on the quiet, suburban street.

Others said they occasionally saw Cole riding a blue moped on Gramercy. 

A vehicle fitting that description was parked in the home’s front yard on Saturday night, before a convoy of heavily armed FBI agents searched the property.