Authorities later identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Thomas Allen of Torrance, California. Reports indicate Allen was heavily armed, carrying a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives as he attempted to breach a security checkpoint near the ballroom. He was eventually subdued by law enforcement and photographed lying face down on the floor.
Among those affected was Erika Kirk, widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated months earlier. Clearly distressed, she was escorted from the venue in tears, telling a bodyguard, “I just wanna go home.”
