"The hotel regularly donates unused food from events to support local organizations and their work in the community," a Washington Hilton spokesperson told PEOPLE
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Washington-Hilton-Hotel-042726-daa00c858db74b218f3027579e585e6d.jpg "Washington Hilton Hotel")
Credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A spokesperson for the Washington Hilton confirmed to PEOPLE that the hotel donated the meals at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner to the local community
- The donation came after suspected shooter Cole Tomas Allen’s alleged attempt to assassinate President Donald Trump
- The hotel donated 2,600 uneaten meals to local shelters and composted the remaining produce for agricultural use
The Washington Hilton served the Washington, D.C. community after the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
At the Saturday, April 25 event, suspected shooter Cole Tomas Allen, 31, breached security at the hotel and allegedly attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump. Due to the incident, the hotel was left with approximately 2,600 dinners that were not served and were later donated to shelters for abused women and children, Weijia Jiang, White House Correspondents' Association president and CBS News' senior White House correspondent, wrote on X on Monday, April 27.
A spokesperson for the Washington Hilton confirmed to PEOPLE that the meals were donated.
"The hotel regularly donates unused food from events to support local organizations and their work in the community," the spokesperson said.
"Food from this weekend is being donated to our local community partners," the spokesperson continued. "[The] remaining produce items were composted and will be sent to farms for agricultural use."
The Hilton "freeze dried the steak and lobster for longer shelf life before giving them to 2 shelters for abused women and children," Jiang wrote. "HUGE thank you to the staff that worked through the night under terrible circumstances."
Credit: Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty
Jiang previously called the shooting "a harrowing moment for everyone in attendance" in a Sunday, April 26 statement.
“We express our deepest gratitude to the U.S. Secret Service and all law enforcement personnel who ensured the safety of everyone in the ballroom and beyond. Their actions protected thousands of guests, and we wish a full and speedy recovery to the officer who was injured in the line of duty," she wrote. "We are grateful everyone in attendance was unharmed, including the president, the first lady and the vice president.”
Following the shooting, Allen was identified as the armed man who allegedly opened fire at around 8:30 p.m. local time. He was promptly taken into custody and was charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, as well as two federal gun crimes, according to a criminal complaint obtained by PEOPLE. Authorities alleged in the criminal complaint that Allen made a reservation at the hotel on April 6, weeks before the shooting.
A Secret Service agent was injured during the shooting, and footage from the dramatic moment shows the president, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and press secretary Karoline Leavitt being evacuated.
Credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty
"We do believe, based upon just a very preliminary start to understanding what happened, that he was targeting members of the administration," Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan on Sunday.
Blanche, 51, added that investigators are still looking into a motive, and they continue to speak with people who know Allen. He also said the alleged gunman is not cooperating with authorities.
The White House previously told PEOPLE that Allen allegedly wrote a "manifesto" opposing the Trump administration. "The suspect's written manifesto clearly stated he wanted to target administration officials," the White House said.
Allen's siblings had both previously expressed concern about statements and writings he made in the lead-up to the shooting, some of which were moments before the shooting. After the attack, Allen's sister told the Secret Service and Montgomery County Police that her brother had allegedly made radical statements and would often refer to a plan to do "something" about the current state of the world, reports CBS News, citing White House and federal officials.
She also alleged to investigators that Allen regularly went to a shooting range to train. She claimed that he purchased two handguns and a shotgun, and stored the weapons at their parents' home, though they were unaware. One of the weapons is believed to have been used in the April 25 shooting, law enforcement officials told CBS News.
Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.
A LinkedIn profile with Allen's name and photo states that he is a "mechanical engineer and computer scientist by degree, independent game developer by experience, teacher by birth," per reports from Reuters, The New York Times and CNN. He also reportedly works as a part-time teacher at C2 Education, a private test preparation and tutoring company, per the outlets.