Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said on the 26th (local time) that the suspect in the shooting at the White House Correspondents' dinner venue may have targeted U.S. President Donald Trump.
Acting Minister Blanche said in an interview with NBC that the gunman "in fact targeted people who work in the administration, possibly including the president." He cited as the basis for that judgment an initial analysis of some of the suspect's electronic devices and interviews with people around the suspect.
However, Acting Minister Blanche expressed caution, saying, "This is a very early-stage judgment that emerged as law enforcement reviews all the evidence," and "I want to wait for the results without rushing." On the motive, he said it is "still currently investigating."
The suspect, Cole Thomas Allen, 31, a California resident, was subdued at the scene after firing a shotgun at a Secret Service (SS) agent at the security screening area for the White House Correspondents' dinner at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C., the previous night and then attempting to breach the security line.
The suspect failed to get inside the banquet hall, but attendees, including President Trump, who were inside the venue at the time, were evacuated.
According to Acting Minister Blanche, the suspect traveled by train from California through Chicago to Washington, D.C., and was found to have stayed at the hotel one or two days before the event.
Regarding the two firearms the suspect had at the time, he said, "They were purchased within the past two years." However, about reports that the suspect assembled the guns outside the hotel room or elsewhere in the hotel, he said it is "currently investigating," avoiding specifics.
For now, it appears to have been the suspect's lone act, but Acting Minister Blanche left open the possibility that this assessment could change if additional information is secured during the investigation.
The suspect is not cooperating with investigators. Acting Minister Blanche said the suspect is expected to be indicted in federal court on the 27th on charges including assaulting a federal official and discharging a firearm, and attempted murder of a federal official.
Regarding criticism of a "security failure" surrounding the incident, Acting Minister Blanche emphasized that the suspect effectively did not penetrate the security perimeter and said law enforcement fulfilled its role.
He said, "Even after seeing the actions of the male and female agents last night, the fact that funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has been cut should be a wake-up call to Congress," urging Congress to resolve the months-long DHS shutdown (temporary federal government work stoppage).
Still, despite that explanation, debate is likely to continue over whether security and protection were sufficient for an event attended by the president, given the severe political polarization in the United States.
In fact, at the Washington Hilton where the event was held the previous day, security screening using metal detectors was conducted only for those entering the "International Ballroom," the main event hall inside the hotel. There was no separate security screening at the hotel entrances.
Security personnel at the driveway and in front of the entrances asked attendees for their invitations (tickets), but there was no procedure to verify individual identities.
Meanwhile, Acting Minister Blanche said there is no reason for concern about the safety of King Charles III of the United Kingdom, who will visit the United States for four days starting on the 27th at President Trump's invitation.
He said, "Of course, if there are lessons to be learned from what happened last night, we will do so, but the system worked properly, and as soon as the suspect tried to carry out his intent, he was stopped," adding, "The president was safe, and the Cabinet, reporters and media staff, and their guests were all safe."