- By Ajeet Kumar
- Mon, 27 Apr 2026 01:37 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Viral images suggest Cole Tomas Allen married Indian woman.
- No credible reports confirm Allen's marriage to Priyanka Rao.
- Allen identified as Caltech graduate, teacher, game developer.
The suspect arrested in the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting on Saturday was identified by a law enforcement official as Cole Tomas Allen, a Los Angeles-area man who appears from social media sites to be a Caltech graduate working as a part-time teacher and game developer. According to media reports, he was living with his family, with his parents and a sister. However, multiple images are circulating online claiming Allen was married to an Indian woman named Priyanka Rao.
31 year old Cole Tomas Allen, with his Indian wife, Priyanka Rao.
— Bruce (@bruce_barrett) April 26, 2026
Why do they always have three names? pic.twitter.com/60nSHD2wBH
-1777276345017.jfif)
According to the viral photograph, the shooter can be seen posing for a picture with a hilly region in the background. His purported wife, Rao, is seen wearing a salwar suit, an attire commonly worn in India.
Besides, a photograph of his alleged wife is also circulating on the internet, where her address is mentioned as Delhi’s Paharganj region.
Fact Check: Is Cole Tomas Allen married to an Indian woman?
Although the US investigating agency has not revealed so far about his wife or any serious relations he has, neighbours told the media about his parents and a sister. The neighbours said they found nothing odd in the shooters’ behaviour. Besides, after zooming in on the passport, it seems to be morphed as the nationality mentioned in the document is “Colen Thomas Allen”.
When asked about the viral image, Grok, the AI chatbot, replied, "The man in your photo matches Cole Allen, the suspected WHCA Dinner shooter. However, no credible news reports mention a wife, girlfriend, or significant other, only his parents, sister, and brother in Torrance, California. It could be an older photo, a friend, or simply someone whose connection has not been reported yet."
Who is Cole Tomas Allen?
The official said Allen, approximately 31 years of age, is a resident of Torrance, California, a coastal town that is part of the South Bay area adjacent to Los Angeles abutting Santa Monica Bay.
The chief of the District of Columbia police department said investigators believe the suspect was a guest at the Washington Hilton hotel, where the annual dinner was taking place, but that no motive had been determined.
Facebook postings appearing to relate to Cole show that he was named “Teacher of the Month” in December 2024 by the Torrance office of C2 Education, a nationwide private test-preparation and tutoring service for college-bound students.
A LinkedIn profile in the suspect's name describes him as a "mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth.
"He obtained a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 2017, and a master's degree in computer science from California State University at Dominguez Hills in 2025, according to the profile. Caltech said in a statement that a person of that name graduated in 2017. Under job experience, the post shows he has worked for the past several years as a part-time teacher for C2 Education and as a self-employed game developer.
(With inputs from agency)