The White House correspondents’ dinner shooting suspect apparently traveled by train with guns. ‘This isn’t about, in my mind, changing the law’

The alleged gunman who attempted to storm the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday traveled to Washington, D.C., from California by train, according to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

Police said the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, had a shotgun, pistol, and multiple knives when he was apprehended. The firearms were purchased in California well before the event, indicating he was able to carry them on the train and cross state lines.

Allen bought a Maverick 12-gauge pump-action shotgun from Turner’s Outdoorsman in Torrance in August 2025 and an Armscor semi-automatic pistol from CAP Tactical Firearms in Lawndale in October 2023, according to Bloomberg.

In an interview Sunday on CBS News’ Face the Nation, Blanche was asked if security protocols on trains should match those at airports, where all travelers and their bags must pass thorough screening.

“This isn’t about, in my mind, changing the law or making the laws more restrictive around possession of firearms,” he replied. “It appears he purchased these firearms the past couple years. ...