Investigators recovered a buckshot pellet lodged in the bulletproof vest of a Secret Service agent shot during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro told CNN. Forensic work, Pirro said, links that pellet to the defendant’s Mossberg pump-action shotgun and to 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, Calif.
Pirro described the pellet as having been intertwined with the vest’s fibers, saying the evidence establishes it came from the buckshot fired by Allen. Authorities say Allen ran through a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton on April 25, when the dinner was underway, and fired his shotgun at the agent.
Allen has been charged with attempted assassination, discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, and illegally transporting guns and ammunition across state lines. Pirro told CNN and other outlets that evidence indicates Allen intended to kill the agent and anyone who obstructed him, and that the president was his apparent target. She cited phone records and other materials showing Allen tracked the president’s movements and timing, including messages asking whether the president had entered the ballroom or been seated.
Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told NBC’s Meet the Press the investigation is ongoing, that additional charges are possible, and that an indictment is likely. An attorney for Allen did not immediately respond to requests for comment.