Crime

Cole Allen, the California teacher and video game developer suspected of opening fire at the White House Correspondents Dinner, sounds like he was a model student ... at least according to one of his old college professors.

Allen took a couple of Dr. Bin Tang's computer science courses at California State University - Dominguez Hills when he was earning his master's degree in the field ... and Tang recalled how Allen was as a student in an email to the AP.

Tang said of Allen ... "He was a very good student indeed, always sitting in the first row of my class, paying attention, and frequently emailing me with coursework questions. Soft-spoken, very polite, a good fellow. I am very shocked to see the news."

The guy who went viral for casually eating a salad in the aftermath of the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner is speaking out about his sudden internet fame ... and his appetite.

Michael Glantz is the man caught on camera munching on his dinner as the ballroom goes on lockdown ... and he tells TMZ he is glad folks are finding levity from the viral clip after such a "horrific moment."

A big-time agent at Creative Artists Agency, Michael says he felt very safe -- the place was crawling with law enforcement after the shooting -- and he wanted to watch everything unfolding in front of him, telling TMZ ... "Not every day you see something like that go down."

Michael reps CNN's Wolf Blitzer, and he tells us the only thing he was concerned about was Wolf, who got knocked over in the chaos. That and making sure his salad didn't go to waste.

Cole Allen, the California teacher and video game designer who authorities allege fired gunshots at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, was pretty active on LinkedIn ... and his page gives some insight into his background.

Allen's bio describes him as a "Mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth."

He graduated from Caltech in 2017 with a degree in mechanical engineering ... and when he was in college, he was a member of Caltech's Christian fellowship and the Nerf club.

The armed suspect arrested in connection with the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner has been identified as 31-year-old Cole Allen, TMZ has confirmed, as new details emerged on what exactly happened.

During a press conference late Saturday night, Jeff Carroll, the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department interim chief, said the perpetrator was carrying a shotgun, handgun, and several knives when he tried to charge through a security checkpoint outside the ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel. At the time, President Trump, his cabinet officials, and the media were all gathered inside the ballroom for the event.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday on "Meet the Press" that the suspect is beleived to have been targeting members of the Trump administration. The man allegedly squeezed off between 5 to 8 shots before he was apprehended.

President Trump confirmed one officer was shot at "very close" range but was saved by his bulletproof vest. Everyone else was safely evacuated.

Cole Allen, the California teacher & game designer who authorities allege shot up the White House Correspondents' Dinner, was featured in a news segment nearly a decade ago ... showing off a prototype he created to help make wheelchairs safer ... and the resurfaced clip is pretty interesting.

Allen was a student at Caltech in 2017 when he was interviewed by ABC7 in Los Angeles at an "Aging into the Future" conference.

In the resurfaced clip, Allen talks about developing a prototype for a wheelchair emergency brake.

He explains his invention ... "The wheelchair brakes tend to lock the wheels, but don't actually lock the chair to the ground ... the idea with this is to prevent it from moving at all."

New details are surfacing about the suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting scare, including reports of an alleged manifesto and concerning statements made prior to the incident.

In an interview with Fox News, President Donald Trump addressed the reported manifesto Cole Allen created -- the 31-year-old man who has been identified as the suspect in the shooting that took place Saturday night -- saying based on Allen's writings, he "hates Christians" and calls him a "troubled guy."

The White House confirms to TMZ ... according to information provided to law enforcement and outlined in interviews with family members, the suspect’s brother alerted New London Police in Connecticut after allegedly receiving a manifesto from Allen minutes before the incident.

Authorities say the document prompted immediate concern and was turned over to investigators.

New details are emerging about the suspect accused of attempting to breach security at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and open fire -- and officials say he’s not making things easy.

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed in an interview with CNN that the suspect -- identified as California resident Cole Allen -- traveled across the country before arriving in the nation’s capital ... allegedly going from Los Angeles to Chicago, then continuing on to D.C., apparently all via train.

Blanche says he then checked into the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the event took place, a couple of days before the incident on the 24th ... and then attempted to breach the event’s security perimeter the following night.

As for what’s happening now behind the scenes … it sounds like investigators aren’t getting much directly from the suspect himself.

Mentalist Oz Pearlman is recounting the heart-stopping moments from inside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, describing the moments after chaos erupted, and how close he was to the President when it all went down.

Pearlman says everything seemed normal as he was doing a big reveal for one of his tricks ... until sudden commotion broke out across the room.

At first, he wasn’t even sure what he was hearing, telling CNN, “I thought maybe it was a medical emergency,” adding that initial confusion quickly turned into fear when he realized what he heard sounded like gunshots.

The suspect tied to the shocking security breach and shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was spotted being taken away in an ambulance, moments after being placed into custody.

The chaotic scene unfolded in Washington, D.C., when an armed individual -- identified as California resident Cole Allen -- made it past security and triggered a massive response inside the esteemed event.

New images show Allen inside an ambulance parked outside the Washington Hilton hotel shortly after the incident Saturday night.

Klaudia Glam -- a popular influencer from the UK -- has died ... after cops say a former "X-Factor" star hit her with her car.

Glam -- real name Klaudia Zakrzewska -- was plowed down in London's SoHo district near a nightclub early Sunday, April 19, the London Metropolitan Police announced. Authorities say she was taken to the hospital ... where she was pronounced dead Saturday.

A 58-year-old man also suffered "life-changing injuries," according to cops.

Spotify and Apple Music are under growing pressure to yank D4vd's music off their platforms completely after he was recently charged with sexually abusing and murdering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas just over a year ago.

The advocacy group Industry Blackout launched a Change.org petition calling on Spotify, Apple and other streaming services to axe all his music from their catalogs, writing ... "When an artist has been charged with the sexual abuse and murder of a minor, a child who was drawn into his orbit through his music and public persona, continuing to stream, promote, and profit from his catalog is a choice. It is not a neutral one."

The petition has under 1,000 signatures so far, but it comes as artists have distanced themselves from the singer, whose real name is David Anthony Burke. Rolling Stone reports his former collaborators Kali Uchis, Holly Humberstone, Laufey and Damiano David have all cut their collaborations from streaming platforms with the help of UMG.

Bryan Kohberger's mom called her son an "angel" after FBI agents arrested him for the slaughter of 4 Idaho college students -- and she even claimed the authorities got the wrong guy, according to a new report.

Maryann Kohberger was interviewed by 3 FBI agents following the 2022 raid on her Pennsylvania family home, during which Bryan was taken away in handcuffs, the Daily Mail reports.

Bryan was charged with murdering University of Idaho students Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. He later pleaded guilty to butchering the students with a Ka-bar knife as they slept in beds inside an Idaho home. Under a plea deal, Bryan was spared the death penalty and sentenced to life in prison.

The parents of Anna Kepner's stepbrother T.H., accused of murdering her on a cruise ship, are now fighting over child support for him ... TMZ has learned.

According to court docs obtained by TMZ, T.H.'s dad, Thomas Hudson, is making moves to pay less monthly child support to T.H.'s mom, Shauntel Hudson.

Thomas said Shauntel kicked T.H. out of her home, saying the child was not welcome in the home due to him being accused of Anna's murder. Thomas claims that because T.H. no longer resided with Shauntel, his child support obligations should be reduced for the amounts allocated to him.

Cher's latest attempt to put her son Elijah Blue Allman under a temporary conservatorship just hit a wall ... a judge shut down the request -- with Elijah in attendance, calling in from a psychiatric hospital.

A Los Angeles judge denied Cher's request Friday without prejudice -- meaning she can try again -- saying there wasn't "sufficient urgency" to justify appointing someone to control Elijah's estate.

Elijah appeared by video from the facility, where the court said he's currently being held in an effort to restore competency as he faces criminal charges in New Hampshire.

Crazy domino effect after a dog peed on a neighbor's lawn ... two men came out of the home and urinated in retaliation ... then a knife fight broke out, sending three people to the hospital ... and it's all on video.

It went down in Queens, NY yesterday ... a guy was walking his French bulldog down the sidewalk when the pooch stopped and pissed on a patch of grass. Two men emerged and peed on the dog owner's neighboring lawn, and then a fight broke out.

One of the guys who urinated was wielding a knife, and he stabbed two neighbors, including a 39-year-old woman, and his own father ... according to police.

Some nasty folks are going after the lawyers defending D4vd in his murder case ... and they're going so far as to flood his defense team with horrendous emails, wishing them the worst simply because they are Jewish.

TMZ got ahold of one piece of hate mail sent to D4vd's defense team ... and it's just a taste of some of the Jewish hate the D4vd case is drumming up.

Here's the full email ... "With the recent shocking news about the crimes D4VD committed on a 12 year old girl. It sickens me that your law firm would pick up this case and defend such a filthy human. I'm not surprised you are all JEWS! the only race that puts money above all morals and will go to the pits of hell for a dollar." It doesn't end there ...