US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the suspected gunman who opened fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner was a "sick guy" who "hates Christians".
Mr Trump and other officials were rushed to safety on Saturday night when the gunman sprinted past a security checkpoint and opened fire outside the gala hosting about 2,500 journalists and other guests in a Washington hotel.
"The guy was a sick guy, when you read his manifesto - he hates Christians, that's one thing for sure," he told Fox News, adding that he believed the suspect's sister had complained to law enforcement about his behaviour.
The New York Post reported that the suspected gunman, identified as Cole Tomas Allen of California, had sent a manifesto-type document to his family minutes before carrying out the attack, in which he revealed that he would be attacking Trump administration officials.
“Turning the other cheek is for when you yourself are oppressed," the manifesto states, according to the Post. “I’m not a schoolkid blown up, or a child starved, or a teenage girl abused by the many criminals in this administration. Turning the other cheek when *someone else* is oppressed is not Christian behavior; it is complicity in the oppressor’s crimes.”
Mr Allen reportedly also mocked the “insane” lack of security at the Washington hotel, saying Iranian agents could have carried out an even larger attack and “no one would have noticed". He added that he would aim to minimise casualties, but would "go through most everyone here to get to the targets if it were absolutely necessary".
“I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes,” Mr Allen wrote, apparently referring to Mr Trump.
The suspected gunman's brother notified police in New London, Connecticut, about the manifesto, the Post said, quoting a US official.
Earlier on Sunday, acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche told media outlets that the suspected gunman had been targeting Mr Trump and members of his administration.
“It does appear that he [the suspected gunman] did, in fact, set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the President,” Mr Blanche told NBC's Meet the Press.
He added that the suspect was thought to have travelled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and on to Washington.
Mr Allen will be charged in federal court on Monday with assault of a federal officer and discharging a firearm in an attempt to kill a federal officer, Mr Blanche said.
The suspect was not co-operating with investigators as of Sunday morning. Mr Blanche said no connection linking the shooting to any particular administration policy has been established.
In an address from the White House, Mr Trump said the gunman was a “sick person” who seemed to be acting as a “lone wolf”.
Washington interim police chief Jeffery Carroll said the suspect had been armed with a shotgun, a handgun and several knives. He was taken to hospital to be assessed, but it was too soon to say what his motive was, Mr Carroll said. He was believed to have been a guest at the hotel.
Mr Allen, 31, is thought to be a resident of Torrance, California. A LinkedIn profile believed to belong to Mr Allen describes him as a “mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth”.
Mr Trump has been the target of two assassination attempts, both of which took place before he returned to office in January last year.
In July 2024 in Butler, Pennsylvania, a lone gunman opened fire on a stage as Mr Trump was speaking at a campaign rally, killing one person and injuring several others, including the current President. Months later, a man hid in the bushes of a Florida golf course with a semi-automatic rifle in a bid to assassinate Mr Trump.
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Mr Trump said the incident highlighted the need for a new ballroom to be built on the grounds of the White House.
Mr Trump last year ordered the tearing down of the White House's East Wing to make way for a ballroom that will reportedly cost about $400 million. A federal lawsuit filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation aims to prevent its construction.
“It cannot be built fast enough!” Mr Trump wrote.
