Was a Secret Service agent hit by a friendly fire during the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting?
Did a mix-up occur during the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting incident?
On the 30th, Reuters, the Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, and The Washington Post reported on the latest investigative developments regarding the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting. However, these reports have overturned earlier official U.S. claims that the shooter exchanged fire with Secret Service agents.
In short, according to The Washington Post's review of surveillance footage from the time of the incident, the suspect—Cole Thomas Allen—rushed into the hotel and was brought down by Secret Service agents in just four seconds. He did not have sufficient time to fire any shots. In fact, it was a Secret Service agent who fired the shots.
According to The Guardian, the agent fired four rounds in total, one of which was directed toward a security officer near where Allen had burst through the entrance. However, none of the four shots hit Allen.
This means that the Secret Service agent previously claimed to have been shot (though only struck the bulletproof vest) may actually have been hit by a fellow agent.
Reuters noted that the Secret Service’s initial statements firmly maintained that Allen had opened fire. However, the latest documents submitted by prosecutors confirmed the presence of a shell casing inside Allen’s shotgun—but this claim still relies solely on testimony from Secret Service agents—and did not confirm that Allen aimed at or hit any Secret Service agent.
In response, the Los Angeles Times offered a clearer assessment: the Secret Service's insistence that Allen fired shots appears intended to conceal their own negligence and failure to secure all safety vulnerabilities. The report stated that when Allen rushed into the hotel, some Secret Service agents were casually loitering near an unobstructed entry point without setting up barriers or showing alertness.
The White House Correspondents' Dinner Shooting Incident
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1863892409236492/
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