David Smith inside the White House press dinner shooting

About this episode

David Smith discusses the events and security concerns surrounding the shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

When gunshots were heard from inside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night, attendees weren’t sure what was happening or if they were in danger. It soon emerged that suspected gunman Cole Tomas Allen, 31 of Torrance, California had been arrested by security officials. Allen was armed with knives, a shotgun and a handgun at the time of arrest. Sitting at his table inside the lavish room as the events unfolded was the Guardian’s Washington DC bureau chief David Smith. He spoke to Nour Haydar about what is known about the alleged gunman’s motivations, the panic inside the room when the shots were fired and what questions are being asked about the event’s security protocols.

People in this episode

Guest: David Smith

Topics covered

• White House
• press dinner
• gun violence
• security protocols
• panic
• media

Keywords

• White House
• Correspondents’ Dinner
• shooting
• security
• David Smith
• Cole Tomas Allen
• panic
• gunman

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Guardian

Places: White House, California, Torrance

More episodes of Full Story

• Back to Back Barries: Who is donating to One Nation? · June 12, 2026 · 33 min
• On the ground in the Belfast riots · June 12, 2026 · 27 min
• Newsroom edition: Are the Liberals already surrendering to One Nation? · June 11, 2026 · 24 min
• The politics and profit of a World Cup in Trump’s America · June 10, 2026 · 23 min
• El Niño is imminent. How worried should Australians be? · June 9, 2026 · 19 min
• Should Married at First Sight be taken off air? · June 8, 2026 · 20 min