New ballistics evidence has revealed that the man who stormed the White House Correspondents' Dinner shot a Secret Service agent during an alleged attempted assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump, according to U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro.
Ballistics Evidence Confirms Agent Was Hit
Appearing on CNN's State of the Union on Sunday, Pirro stated that evidence showed "definitively" that a buckshot from accused gunman Cole Allen's Mossberg pump action shotgun struck the agent's bulletproof vest at the event held at the Washington Hilton last weekend.
She explained that the pellet from Allen's gun was "intertwined with the fibre of the vest of the Secret Service officer. It was definitively his bullet … He had every intention to kill him and anyone who got in his way." The Secret Service agent was shot but uninjured.
Charges and Custody
Allen, 31, has been charged with attempting to assassinate Trump and has been in custody since the night of the shooting. He was injured during the attack but was not shot by law enforcement. It was previously unclear whose bullet hit the agent, though Pirro told CNN that surveillance video showed Allen shooting at the agent, and the agent had stated he was shot by the accused.
Allen has also been charged with the discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. It remains unclear if the new ballistic evidence will result in additional charges.
Allen Removed from Suicide Watch
On Sunday, Allen was removed from suicide watch in jail after his attorneys filed an emergency motion the previous day to remove him from any suicide precautions. Authorities reported that Allen was carrying two firearms and several knives when he was tackled to the ground by law enforcement outside the ballroom of the Hilton hotel.
The part-time tutor and amateur video game developer sent his family a 1,000-word manifesto 10 minutes before the attack, according to the New York Post.
