Secret Service director defends WHCA security as critics question plan after Hilton shooting
Secret Service Director Sean Curran said he would not change the security plan for last weekend’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner and called the Washington Hilton “set up perfectly,” Curran told Fox News host Will Cain on Thursday.
Curran said one agent was shot at “point-blank range” by suspect Cole Tomas Allen and that the officer “heroically returned fire” and fired five times, according to his comments to Fox News. Curran said Allen, 31, fell after hitting his knee and was subdued by federal agents near a stairwell, and he disputed that the wound to an officer was caused by friendly fire.
Court filings by prosecutors provide a different account, referencing an officer firing five times but not mentioning that an officer was shot or that Allen aimed at or struck a Secret Service officer, according to the filings.
Surveillance footage released by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro shows Allen walking through the hotel the day before the shooting and then moving through hallways and near doorways on the night of the attack, the footage shows. The video appears to show a Secret Service dog zeroing in on Allen before a handler pulls the animal back, and then Allen emerging with a shotgun, firing at least one round and sprinting past agents before being subdued, according to the released footage.
The footage and aftermath have drawn criticism from former agents and commentators. Rich Staropoli, a former Secret Service agent, told RealClearPolitics that Allen was close to a stairwell that led to the crowded ballroom and that the incident could have been “catastrophic” if Allen had gotten through the doors. Fox News host Laura Ingraham and commentator Clay Travis also criticized security, and federal law enforcement sources said three people who appeared to be Transportation Security Administration employees crouched and moved around a corner when Allen ran through with a shotgun.
President Donald Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Secret Service leaders told him the shooting was not friendly fire. The White House released a statement saying Chief of Staff Susie Wiles would meet with Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security leaders to review security protocols. Several current and former Secret Service agents and other sources contacted by reporters said leadership changes under Curran — including altered promotion requirements for senior protective roles — have raised concerns about planning and experience inside the agency.
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