Ex-Nasa teacher identified as alleged shooter at White House dinner

{"text":[[{"start":9,"text":"A teacher and computer games developer who was previously an intern at Nasa has been identified by US media outlets as the suspect who attempted to break into a dinner attended by Donald Trump armed with weapons and knives."}],[{"start":21.35,"text":"Cole Tomas Allen, 31, from Torrance, California, tried to enter the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday night, unnamed law enforcement officials told Reuters and other media outlets. "}],[{"start":32.75,"text":"Officials said he did not have a criminal record, the outlets reported. "}],[{"start":37.7,"text":"In a LinkedIn profile that appears to be Allen’s, he lists his career as a “game dev, engineer, scientist, teacher”."}],[{"start":46.050000000000004,"text":"His most recently listed present employment on the profile was a part-time teaching post at C2 Education, a tutoring and college test-preparation company where he said he had worked for six years. "}],[{"start":57.300000000000004,"text":"He was named teacher of the month in December 2024 by the company, according to a Facebook post. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":62.900000000000006,"text":"The LinkedIn profile stated that Allen graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2017 and a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills in May last year."}],[{"start":81.15,"text":"He wrote he was a “mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth”. "}],[{"start":89.75,"text":"Allen was also involved in game development projects, according to the profile, including “a top-down shooter/RPG [role-playing game]” that he said was under active development. He released another game, called Bohrdom and tagged as an “atomic fighting game” seven years ago, his profile states."}],[{"start":106.85,"text":"His experience also included being a teaching assistant at Caltech in Los Angeles in 2016 and a summer undergraduate internship at Nasa’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena in 2014."}],[{"start":120.3,"text":"He said of his time at Nasa that he “added modelling capability for planets around several previously excluded stars” and “updated the most recent version of the model with new chemical reaction data”, adding that he identified discrepancies between two versions of the model. "}],[{"start":135.75,"text":"His profile listed “science and technology” as causes he felt passionate about. "}],[{"start":140.75,"text":"Washington city officials said the suspect ran towards the ballroom’s entrance but was quickly apprehended by Secret Service officers. Trump said at a media briefing later at the White House that a Secret Service officer outside the ballroom was shot in the vest, but was “doing great”. "}],[{"start":156.2,"text":"The president called the suspect a “very sick person” from California who was probably a “lone wolf”, and posted an image of him on his Truth Social account."}],[{"start":164.89999999999998,"text":"The suspect and the wounded agent were both being treated at a local hospital, according to Washington mayor Muriel Bowser."}],[{"start":171.89999999999998,"text":"Police said the suspect was carrying a shotgun, handgun and a number of knives, and was registered as a guest at the hotel."}],[{"start":179.54999999999998,"text":"He has been charged with two counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon. "}],[{"start":187.04999999999998,"text":"He is due to appear in court on Monday. US attorney-general Todd Blanche said on Sunday that investigators were “still looking into” the shooter’s motivations for the attack, but said they believed he had been “targeting members of the administration”. "}],[{"start":201.49999999999997,"text":"Blanche said the alleged shooter appears to have travelled from Los Angeles to the US capital by train via Chicago and that he had purchased two firearms in recent years. "}],[{"start":218.44999999999996,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1777211988_7259.mp3"}