A photo of the shotgun allegedly brandished by Cole Tomas Allen at the Washington Hilton in an assassination attempt on US President Donald Trump and other top leaders has surfaced online.
The weapon was identified as a Mossberg Maverick 12-gauge shotgun. He purchased the pump-action shotgun from Turner's Outdoorsman in Torrance, California, in August 2025, according to sourced quoted by New York Post.
Why did Cole Tomas Allen use a Mossberg Maverick 12-guage?
Mossberg Maverick 12-gauge is easier to conceal as it has a folding stock. Allen's weapon also featured a pistol grip and an extended magazine tube.
Allen also bought an Armscor semi-automatic pistol from CAP Tactical Firearms in Lawndale, California, in October 2023. The weapons were stored at his parents' house in Torrance. He regularly trained with the weapons at a shooting range.
The charges against Allen include using a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.
Allen tried to rush past the security perimeter inside the Washington Hilton hotel, where Trump was about to address the White House Correspondent's Association dinner. Armed with multiple weapons, including knives, he fired shots outside the ballroom of the hotel.
Immediately, Secret Service officials and other security personnel covered the President, First Lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and the Second Lady Usha Vance, who were seated at the head table, and escorted them out of the ballroom.
This was not the first assassination attempts against Trump. He has survived two attempts on his life over the past two years. The first one was at a presidential election campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, and later in Palm Beach, Florida, on September 15, 2024.
