Security video shows police dog alerting to gunman in stairwell seconds before attack at WHCA dinner
by Susan Ferrechio · The Washington TimesNew security video from the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner appears to show a police dog straining on its leash as it approached alleged gunman Cole Allen in a stairwell just seconds before he bolted past the Secret Service with a rifle.
The footage shows a person appearing to be Mr. Allen casually walk into the stairwell, where he was immediately spotted by a passing K9 officer.
The unidentified cop stopped and is seen briefly talking to someone inside the stairwell, presumably Mr. Allen, who just entered the passageway.
The officer’s dog also showed interest. It followed the person presumed to be Mr. Allen into the stairwell and strained at the leash to go further inside.
The police officer, however, twice snaps the leash to pull the dog away. The officer turns his back and walks down the hall.
About one second later, Mr. Allen is seen running out of the stairwell wielding a long gun. He rushes through a magnetometer, past a group of startled Secret Service agents and other law enforcement.
He was headed toward the ballroom where, authorities said, he planned to assassinate President Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance and many members of the Cabinet who were seated, according to a manifesto he left behind.
As the gunman runs through the screening equipment, the video shows, an officer fired shots at him. The shots missed, although some video sleuths believe it was friendly fire that struck and injured one of the Secret Service agents, who was wearing an armored vest and was not seriously hurt.
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Authorities said the video shows Mr. Allen fire his weapon at an officer as he storms through the screening equipment.
U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said the images show Mr. Allen “shoot a Secret Service officer during his attempt to assassinate the President at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.”
Despite theories that the agent was shot by another officer, she said, “There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire.”
Secret Service officers tackled Mr. Allen moments after he stormed past the screening equipment when he tripped and fell.
Ms. Pirro released an additional video showing a man presumed to be Mr. Allen walking around the hotel the day before the dinner. He enters the hotel gym and speaks to an attendant and is seen exploring the hallways around the ballroom.
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Secret Service Director Sean Curran defended the agency’s security plan for the event and said he would not change it. He said in a Fox News interview that the attack was stopped within seconds at the outermost perimeter of a multilayered security bubble around the president.
The distance from the magnetometers to the dias where Mr. Trump was seated was 355 feet, with two sets of stairs, a doorway and many more armed Secret Service officers in between, he said.
Mr. Allen was charged in federal court on Monday with attempting to assassinate the president, which carries a penalty of up to life imprisonment. He is also charged with the transportation of a firearm and using a firearm during a violent crime. An initial charge of assault of a federal officer was dropped.
• The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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• Susan Ferrechio can be reached at sferrechio@washingtontimes.com.