Starmer calls Trump to send best wishes after ‘shocking scenes’ at press dinner

Sir Keir Starmer has phoned Donald Trump to express his relief that the US President and the first lady are safe ‘after shocking scenes’ at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

A Secret Service officer was injured in the shooting that saw the President evacuated to safety in chaotic scenes at the Washington Hilton last night.

Cole Tomas Allen, 31, of Torrance, California, is facing two firearm-related charges after opening fire near the room where Donald Trump and several other high-profile cabinet members were dining.

The Prime Minister extended his best wishes following the ‘shocking scenes at last night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner’, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.

The PM expressed his relief that they were safe, and wished a speedy recovery to the officer injured in the incident, the spokesperson adds.

The two leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East and the ‘urgent need to get shipping moving again in the Strait of Hormuz, given the severe consequences for the global economy’.

Targeting Trump officials

The accused gunman who tried to storm the ballroom at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner with guns and knives travelled across the country before the event and is believed to have been targeting members of the Trump administration, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

Blanche also said officials believe the suspect travelled by train from California to Chicago and then on to Washington, where in recent days he checked in as a guest to the hotel where one of Washington’s glitziest events was being held.

Law enforcement officials who have examined the gunman’s electronic devices and his writings preliminarily believe he intended to target administration members in attendance at the dinner.

He attempted to charge into the cavernous ballroom at the Washington Hilton but was tackled to the ground in a chaotic scene that resulted in shots being fired, President Donald Trump being hurried off the stage and guests ducking for cover beneath their tables.

Video posted by Trump showed the suspect running past security barricades as Secret Service agents ran toward him.

One officer was shot in a bullet-resistant vest but was recovering, officials said. The gunman was taken into custody and was not injured, but was being evaluated at a hospital, police said.

The suspect is believed to have purchased the firearms he carried within the last couple of years, Blanche said. He is not being cooperative and is expected to face multiple charges on Monday.

Allen is believed to be a teacher from California, but his motive for the shooting remains unclear.

Social media posts found that Cole was named ‘Teacher of the Month’ on December 2024 by C2 Education, a nationwide private test-preparation and tutoring service for college-bound students.

His LinkedIn describes him as a ‘mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, ​independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth.’

After attending both the California Institute of Technology and California State University, he obtained a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.

Police said Allen had been armed with a shotgun, handgun and multiple knives, but Trump shared the motive that he was acting as a ‘lone wolf’.

‘They seem to think he’s a lone wolf, and I feel that too,’ Trump said.

Allen had no criminal record and hadn’t set off any alarms for law enforcement in Washington DC, police said.