White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen was clocked by a K9 seconds before the attack, new footage shows.
On Thursday, Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, released security footage from the Washington Hilton that appeared to show Allen surveying the hotel leading up to the annual White House Correspondents’ Association event on Saturday.
“Today, we are releasing video already provided to U.S. District Court showing Cole Allen shoot a U.S. Secret Service officer during his attempt to assassinate the President at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner,” Pirro wrote on X. “There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire. The video also shows Allen casing the area in the Hilton Hotel the day before the attack. My office along with the @FBI will continue this extensive investigation to bring Cole Allen to justice.”
Yet, it is the seconds before Allen appeared to charge out of a doorway, blasting through security, that has caught the internet’s attention. Namely, that a K9 looked to be suspicious of Allen’s behavior as other security officers were busy taking apart a metal detector. Seconds later, the suspect, who the U.S. attorney’s office identified as Allen, ran through the doorway holding a gun.
Watch the footage below.
Today, we are releasing video already provided to U.S. District Court showing Cole Allen shoot a U.S. Secret Service officer during his attempt to assassinate the President at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
— US Attorney Pirro (@USAttyPirro) April 30, 2026
There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly… pic.twitter.com/a8gRXkW6BH
“A really really good rule for life: LISTEN TO YOUR DOG!!!!!!!!!!!,” one X user noted in response to the new footage. Another chimed in with, “The dog knew before anyone!! I trust my dog’s instincts more than I do any person on this earth.” A third added: “Dogs often have an uncanny ability to sense humans better than humans do.”
A representative for the White House did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment.
This update comes three days after Allen, who was arrested directly after a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, was charged Monday with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump. He faces three criminal charges, including an attempt to assassinate President Trump, which is punishable with life in prison. He did not enter a plea for the attempted assassination or corresponding firearm charges.
Allen allegedly sent messages to his family right before the attack that coined himself as a “Friendly Federal Assassin.” He also sent out a manifesto, in which he apologized to his parents, his students, colleagues and fellow travelers, as well as to “everyone who was abused and/or murdered before this, to all those who suffered before I was able to attempt this, to all who may still suffer after, regardless of my success or failure.”
“I am a citizen of the United States of America,” Allen allegedly wrote. “What my representatives do reflects on me. And I am no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes.”
The incident has raised questions from both sides of the aisle regarding security. Though, President Trump was nothing but grateful for all officers and agents on the scene, noting in his press briefing after the shooting: “That was very unexpected but incredibly acted upon by Secret Service and law enforcement … [Allen] was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service, and they acted very quickly.”
