Trump says Secret Service agent was not shot by friendly fire

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said a Secret Service agent who was shot April 25 at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner was not struck by friendly fire but instead by the suspected gunman.

"They say it was not friendly fire," Trump told reporters on April 30 when asked who was responsible for shooting the agent. "That's what I heard. I heard that. They said it wasn't friendly fire. It was actually reported."

Trump's remarks come as a federal review of witness and agent statements have found evidence consistent with the alleged gunman, 31-year-old Cole Allen, shooting the Secret Service agent.

The findings appear to undercut recent speculation by online observers who have pored over video of the shootout and saw numerous agents training their weapons on Allen from different angles.

Agent shot at 'point-blank range'

Evidence collected so far, USA TODAY reported this week, indicates the only Secret Service agent who actually fired their weapon at Allen was the one who was injured as he tried to prevent what prosecutors say was an attempted assassination on Trump. The agent, who has not been identified, fired five times but did not hit the suspect.

The weapons of all of the other Secret Service agents at the scene were checked during the federal review and were never fired, according to a law enforcement source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to USA TODAY to discuss an ongoing investigation that is being conducted by the FBI and Secret Service.

Sean Curran, director of the Secret Service, said all the evidence indicates the agent was shot at "point-blank range" with a shotgun by the suspect.

“Our officer, heroically, returned fire while being shot point-blank range in the chest with a shotgun and was able to get off five shots," Curran said in an April 30 interview on The Will Cain Show on Fox News.

U.S Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said law enforcement is still awaiting official results from ballistic tests but said it's clear the suspect fired his 12-gauge shotgun in the direction of the agent who was hit.

"I don't think there's any question of what happened here," Pirro said in an interview on Fox News.

Allen faces assassination and firearm charges. Federal prosecutors say the teacher and mechanical engineer traveled across the country from California to Washington, booked a room at the Washington Hilton, armed himself with weapons and tried to burst his way into the WHCA dinner to kill the president and other Trump administration officials.

Allen was apprehended after firing a shotgun in the direction of stairs leading to the ballroom dinner area, according to prosecutors. No fatalities resulted from the gunfire.

Contributing: USA TODAY's Josh Meyer, Aysha Bagchi and Terry Collins

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.