“The suspect in the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner shooting, widely named as Cole Tomas Allen, is a tutor with a degree in mechanical engineering who was opposed to President Donald Trump's policies, according to US media reports.”

“In a manifesto sent to his family, the 31-year-old California man described himself as a "Friendly Federal Assassin" and apologised to his family and other "non-targeted people".”

“The California man arrested in the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner is a highly educated tutor and amateur video game developer opposed to the policies of President Donald Trump.”

“A photo of Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, posted to social media last year shows him in a cap and gown after graduating with a master’s degree in computer science from California State University, Dominguez Hills.”

“His face appears to match the appearance of the alleged attacker taken into custody at the dinner Saturday night in Washington that was attended by Trump and top members of his administration.”

“In writings sent to family members minutes before the attack, the 31-year-old described himself as “Friendly Federal Assassin” and railed against recent actions taken by the US government under Trump, though he did not name the Republican president directly, according to a law enforcement official who was not authorised to publicly discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.”

“According to his manifesto published by The New York Post, Allen apologised to "everyone whose trust I abused" and to other "non-targeted people".”

“While the manifesto did not name Trump, Allen wrote that he was "no longer willing to permit a pedophile, rapist, and traitor to coat my hands with his crimes".”