The firearm that suspect Cole Allen reportedly brought to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has been revealed to the public for the first time.

Allen, aged 31, faces accusations of discharging a weapon outside the prestigious event, injuring a Secret Service agent on Saturday evening. Meanwhile, inside, former President Trump and members of his Cabinet were partaking in their starter salads.

A fresh image of the suspect has also surfaced, showing Allen shortly after he was detained. In the photo, he appears shirtless, wrapped in a mylar blanket.

The image also showcases the Mossberg Maverick 12-gauge shotgun, which he allegedly had in his possession as he breached the security perimeter at the Washington Hilton, lying on a carpeted surface.

This shotgun was reportedly just one of the multiple weapons Allen is said to have brought to the event.

Authorities report that he was additionally carrying a handgun and several knives as he pushed through the security checkpoint located one floor above the reception area.

After exchanging gunfire with law enforcement, the gunman was tackled to the ground.

Allen was just yards from the dinner where the President, Vice President, First Lady and most of Trump’s Cabinet were dining on Saturday evening when he was apprehended.

The shotgun that Cole Allen is accused of bringing to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner has been revealed for the first time

The suspect, without a shirt and covered in a mylar blanket, after his arrest in Washington, DC

Allen was reportedly staying at the Washington Hilton, where the dinner was being held. 

He is said to have avoided the hotel’s highly monitored corridors by slipping through an internal stairway that was less closely surveilled than the hallways and elevators.

After running down around ten stories in the stairwell, the alleged gunman emerged on a lower level close to the initial screening area where magnetometers and Secret Service were stationed.

Concerns have swirled over how Allen would be able to apparently bring the shotgun, a handgun and knives into the hotel without detection. 

He was apprehended on a floor above the reception, though had he been able to continue down just one additional flight of stairs, he could have breached the dining hall where Trump and his top officials were dining. 

After being evacuated to the White House following the gunfire, Trump noted that the hotel was not a particularly secure venue. 

According to a manifesto he sent to family members moments before his planned attack, Allen was attempting to take out the President and members of his inner circle.

According to the New York Post, the note said: ‘Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed. I’m not the person raped in a detention camp. I’m not the fisherman executed without trial.’

The President and First Lady Melania Trump sat on stage as the shots rang out on Saturday

White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has called for a security meeting with USSS and the Department of Homeland Security after the shocking event 

‘I’m not a schoolkid blown up or a child starved or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes.’

‘In order to minimize casualties, I will also be using buckshot rather than slugs (less penetration through walls).’

A senior White House official told the Daily Mail that Chief of Staff Susie Wiles has called for a security meeting with USSS and the Department of Homeland Security to discuss the Saturday shooting. 

‘President Trump has said he personally thinks they did an excellent job neutralizing the shooter and moving the President, First Lady, Vice President and Cabinet to safety,’ the senior White House official told the Daily Mail. 

‘Nevertheless, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is convening a meeting early this week with the White House operations team, USSS, and DHS leadership to discuss protocol and practices for major events involving POTUS.’

Since the pair of assassination attempts on Trump during the 2024 campaign, multiple security lapses have roiled the Secret Service, including a group of protestors getting within feet of the President at a DC restaurant last year, breaches at Trump’s Florida home and most recently the press gala. 

In late February, USSS and local law enforcement shot and killed Austin Martin, 21, after he breached the secure perimeter of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home with a shotgun. 

In September 2025, the President was confronted by a group of screaming protesters at Joe’s Seafood in Washington. 

The Code Pink activists were able to get within feet of Trump, prompting concern over how they knew about the President’s impromptu visit to the restaurant.