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Caltech Statement on Washington Correspondents' Incident

April 26, 2026
Office of Communications and External Relations

To: The Caltech Community
From: Shayna Chabner, Chief Communications and External Relations Officer

I write to update the community with information related to the April 25 shooting incident at the Washington Correspondents' dinner. Media have reported that federal authorities have identified a suspect by the name of Cole Tomas Allen in connection with the attack. We can confirm that an undergraduate student by the name of Cole Allen graduated from Caltech in 2017. 

We defer to authorities leading the investigation to confirm if the suspect and our undergraduate alumnus are the same person. The connection is being made in media reports.

We unequivocally denounce this violent act and extend our concern and support to all those impacted by this incident. Out of respect for the continuing investigation, we will not be commenting on specific details.

Should you have any questions or concerns or receive inquiries from the media or external partners asking for an official statement from Caltech, please direct them to Caltech's media relations team at [email protected].