A new court filing raises questions about who shot a Secret Service officer at a White House press gala
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A federal court ruling on Wednesday raised questions about officials' initial assertions that a gunman shot a Secret Service agent while he was suspected of trying to kill President Donald Trump at a White House Correspondents' Association dinner.
The defendant, Cole Thomas Allen, 31, fired the gun “on the side of the stairs leading down to the ballroom” where Trump, other administration officials and the media were gathered Saturday night, according to the pretrial detention order, which provided the government with the most detailed information about the incident.
In this motion, prosecutors refer to the officer who fired five times, but the document does not name that officer or any other shot. A bullet was recovered from the suspect's gunshot wound, according to Wednesday's filing.
The document did not accuse Allen of targeting or hitting the Secret Service officer, who authorities say was shot in the chest but protected by his body armor.
US officials on Monday charged Cole Thomas Allen, 31, after the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday night, including attempted murder of President Donald Trump. DC's U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro said more charges will be filed as the investigation continues.
That contradicts earlier statements by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. It also raises the question of who fired the round that hit the Secret Service officer.
A few hours after the incident, Pirro told the media that the suspect will be charged with “assaulting a police officer with a dangerous weapon,” although those charges are not among the charges against him so far. Pirro said Allen could face other charges. Prosecutors have charged Allen with attempting to assassinate the president.
Blanche told ABC's George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that she believes Allen's gun hit the officer. He reiterated that belief at a press conference Monday, but added the caveat, “We're still looking into that.”
Cole Tomas Allen, who is accused of shooting the White House books, was charged with trying to kill US President Donald Trump after he raided the area and opened fire on Saturday night.
A White House official referred Reuters to law enforcement when asked who shot the Secret Service officer. The Secret Service and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The government's account of the shooting was further questioned by a Washington Post review Wednesday of security footage obtained by the newspaper, which showed nothing in the footage that Allen fired his weapon.
The investigation revealed that the officer fired his gun multiple times at the suspect as he ran through the checkpoint at the Washington Hilton Hotel. At one point in this episode, which lasted only a few seconds, some security guards were seen to be on fire when a police officer shot a suspect as he passed by.
Wednesday's filing includes a photo Allen took of himself in his hotel room mirror before the attack. In it he is dressed in black with the exception of red trousers tucked into his trousers and is armed with a pouch of ammunition, a shoulder holster, a folding knife, planks and wire cutters.
The affidavit did not name the shooter
Although Wednesday's plea did not mention the Secret Service officer who was shot, a previous affidavit filed Monday in support of the criminal complaint did not say who fired the shots.
An affidavit filed in US District Court said Secret Service agents “heard a loud gunshot.” A Secret Service officer wearing a ballistic vest who goes by the initials “VG” was shot once, according to the affidavit, but did not say who.
Officer VG fired multiple shots at Allen, who was not hit but fell to the ground, the affidavit said.
Before his attack, Allen wrote in a manifesto, which was quoted in court, that “to reduce casualties I will use buckshot instead of slugs (slow penetration into walls).”
When asked at Monday's press conference if Officer VG was the only officer who fired his weapon, Blanche said investigators were gathering evidence but it wasn't “exact science.” He noted that buckshot in particular “scatters all over the place, and sometimes just disappears.”
