On Wednesday, a US government court filing questioned the initial claims made by officials that a gunman shot a Secret Service officer during an alleged assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.
The suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, 31, fired a shotgun in the direction of the stairs leading down to the ballroom where Trump and other administration officials were present. The filing provided the government’s most detailed account yet of the incident. It noted that prosecutors had previously referred to an officer firing five times but did not mention who was shot.
A spent cartridge was found in Allen’s shotgun, according to the motion. However, it did not accuse Allen of aiming at or striking the Secret Service officer, who authorities say was shot in the chest but protected by his body armor.
This contradicts earlier statements from acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and US Attorney Jeanine Pirro, who said an officer was hit. Hours after the incident, Pirro told reporters that the suspect would be charged with “assault on a federal officer using a dangerous weapon,” though this is not among the charges brought so far.
Blanche reiterated his belief that shots from Allen’s shotgun hit the officer at a press conference but added they were still investigating.
A White House official referred Reuters to law enforcement when asked who shot the Secret Service officer. The Secret Service and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
An examination of security footage by the Washington Post showed no indication that Allen fired his weapon, despite showing an officer firing multiple times at the suspect as he raced through a checkpoint at the Washington Hilton hotel.
The earlier affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint stated that Secret Service personnel heard a loud gunshot and that one officer, referred to as “V.G.,” was shot once while firing on Allen, who fell to the ground. The affidavit did not specify who fired the shot.
Before his attack, Allen wrote in a manifesto that he would use buckshot for minimal casualties due to its less penetrating nature through walls. Blanche noted at a press conference that investigators were collecting evidence but acknowledged it was not an “exact science,” particularly with buckshot which scatters widely and can sometimes disappear.