Uncertainty Surrounds Secret Service Officer Shooting at Washington Hilton
A week after a suspect allegedly attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump at a press gala, key details about the shooting remain unclear.
As the investigation has progressed, prosecutors' statements have shifted regarding whether the suspect shot a US Secret Service officer during the gunfire at the Washington Hilton last Saturday.
The president and other senior officials have stated that a Secret Service officer was shot as the attacker charged a security checkpoint at the hotel, surviving due to a bulletproof vest.
However, court documents filed by government attorneys do not explicitly allege that the accused shot an officer on the night of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, although some officials have indicated that more evidence is emerging about the incident.
The Secret Service officer fired five times at the suspect as he charged, authorities said, but did not hit him.
"There's this insatiable public interest in the case, pressure to get information out to the public," Mark Lesko, a former US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, told the BBC.
"But on the other hand, you want to conduct a thorough investigation, which could take weeks in a case like this."
Lesko noted that it is understandable for law enforcement to make contradictory public statements during such a high-profile investigation.
"But any inaccuracies could open the door for defence attorneys to poke holes in the case," he warned.
The BBC has reached out to the Justice Department for comment. The Secret Service and the US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia declined to comment.
The public first learned from President Trump that a Secret Service officer had been shot. He told reporters at a news conference on the night of the incident that the agent "was shot from very close distance with a very powerful gun."
An affidavit issued by the Justice Department that night named Cole Tomas Allen, 31, as the suspect and listed charges against him, including discharging a firearm.
Allen, who is in custody, was armed with a semi-automatic handgun, a pump-action shotgun, and three knives, according to authorities.
Last Sunday, the day after the incident, Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche was asked on CBS News if the alleged assailant had shot the Secret Service agent.
"That's what we understand as of now," Blanche replied.
However, at a news conference on Monday, he revised his statement. When asked again who had shot the officer, he said,
"We wanna get that right, so we're still looking at that."
He indicated that five shots in total were fired during the incident.
Blanche said the suspect "fired out of a shotgun, and we know that happened." He added that ballistics were still being "looked at and finalised."
The same day, the government unveiled its criminal complaint against Allen. It stated that the accused "approached and ran through the magnetometer holding a long gun."
"As he did so, US Secret Service personnel assigned to the checkpoint heard a loud gunshot.
"US Secret Service Officer V.G. was shot once in the chest; Officer V.G. was wearing a ballistic vest at the time."
Prosecutors do not specifically allege that Allen shot the officer, however.
"That is interesting and noteworthy because what it shows is the government does not yet have conclusive proof that the suspect did shoot the agent," Lesko said.
The legal expert also noted that prosecutors have not charged Allen with assaulting a Secret Service officer, although Blanche has said the Justice Department could file more counts.
Neither did a government filing for Allen's detention on Wednesday contain any reference to a Secret Service officer being shot.
It said a Secret Service officer had "observed the defendant fire the shotgun in the direction of the stairs leading down to the ballroom." But the government does not specify whether Allen's alleged shot struck anyone.
Allen's attorneys noted the omission.
In a filing arguing for his release, defence lawyers wrote,
"Moreover, the government, after essentially asserting that Mr Allen shot a Secret Service Officer in the criminal complaint, has apparently retreated from the theory by not mentioning the alleged officer at all in its memorandum."
Lawyers for Allen did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment.
On Thursday, Jeanine Pirro, a former Fox News host and now the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, posted new security footage of the incident on X.
The video shows a gunman, identified by authorities as Allen, running through a security checkpoint at the hotel.
Pirro said the clip showed the suspect shooting a Secret Service officer, though it is unclear from the footage if he actually fires.
The clip also shows a Secret Service officer raising his gun—several muzzle flashes are visible from his firearm.
"There is no evidence the shooting was the result of friendly fire," Pirro wrote.
That same day, Secret Service Director Sean Curran told Fox News,
"All the evidence that I've seen, the suspect shot our officer point-blank range with a shotgun."
In an interview with CNN more than a week after the incident, Pirro claimed the suspect was "definitely" the one who fired the shot.
"It is definitely his bullet. He hit at that Secret Service agent. He had every intention to kill him," Pirro said on 3 May.
She added that the government had evidence that a "pellet" from the ammunition from the defendant's pump-action shotgun was "intertwined with the fibre of the vest of the Secret Service officer."
Reviews of ballistics and other evidence can take weeks, if not months, and authorities will likely release more information as the case continues.
Ultimately, whether the defendant shot the officer or not may not be critical to prosecutors if they can secure a conviction.
"They have enough charges here to put Allen away for a very long time," if a jury finds him guilty, Lesko said.
