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Channel 7 Eyewitness News 6PM Weekend - April 26, 2026
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Courtesy: WABC-TV New York
© 2026 WABC Television (New York), LLC, licensee of WABC-TV
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00:00Right now, it's New York's number one news with Joe Torres and Tanya Rivero, Ryan Field with sports, and meteorologist
00:09Jeff Smith with the exclusive vacu-weather forecast. Now, eyewitness news at six.
00:16Investigators tonight pieced together what led to the gunfire that quickly ended the White House Correspondents' Dinner and forced the
00:24President, the First Lady, and other top officials to take cover.
00:27And new details emerge about the suspected shooter, Cole Allen, the message he sent to his family, referring to himself
00:35as a, quote, friendly federal assassin.
00:38Good evening, everyone. I'm Tanya Rivero.
00:41And I'm Joe Torres. Nearly 24 hours now since the shooting that disrupted the White House Correspondents' Dinner, and tonight,
00:47a clearer indication of who was the intended target.
00:50On social media, the White House press secretary said, in part, the suspected shooter sought to assassinate the president and
00:58kill as many top Trump administration officials as possible.
01:02This comes as we now see new video of the Secret Service storming the Washington Hilton the minute after shots
01:08were fired.
01:09We see them both from outside the hotel and inside on the perimeter of the ballroom.
01:14Overnight, the FBI and SWAT teams surrounded Cole Allen's Los Angeles County home.
01:21Federal agents apprehended him outside the ballroom of last night's dinner.
01:25Authorities are now working to learn the motive behind the apparent lone wolf attack.
01:30Eyewitness News reporter Lucy Yang is in the newsroom with the latest developments. Lucy.
01:34Well, Tanya and Joe, this latest incident marks the third possible assassination attempt on President Trump.
01:40He was not injured, but it did shake up the annual White House Correspondents' Dinner.
01:49One minute, President Trump and his wife Melania were being entertained at a formal event.
01:54Seconds later, shots were fired.
01:56This Secret Service agent put his body in front of the president before teams could escort the commander-in-chief
02:02off the stage.
02:03The president later saying he actually wanted to stay and let the show go on.
02:09I don't like to let these sick people, these thugs, these horrible, horrible people, change the fabric of our life.
02:18Authorities report 31-year-old Cole Allen tried to force his way into the event Saturday night, but was quickly
02:25stopped before any lives were lost.
02:27He was armed with a shotgun, a handgun, and multiple knives.
02:31Authorities report a Secret Service agent took a bullet to the chest and are crediting his vest for saving his
02:38life.
02:39As for the alleged assassin, Allen is from Torrance, California.
02:43SWAT teams raced to his house shortly after his arrest.
02:46Investigators have learned the trained mechanical engineer working as a tutor graduated from Caltech in 2017.
02:53He was also named Teacher of the Month in December of 2024.
02:58Officials believe Allen booked a room in advance in the same hotel as the event, traveled under the radar from
03:05California to D.C. on a train, so never had to go through TSA checks.
03:10Authorities believe his goal was to target administration officials in attendance at the dinner.
03:15Meanwhile, the 79-year-old president showed tremendous resilience as he got right back in front of reporters while still
03:23in his tuxedo.
03:24It's a dangerous profession, but I don't view it that way.
03:27Look, I'm here to do a job.
03:31Now, we're told Cole Allen left multiple writings in his hotel room and back in California.
03:36Perhaps that will help put the motive in focus.
03:39In one message to his family right before the shooting, Allen reportedly called himself a, quote, friendly family assassin.
03:47We're live in the newsroom.
03:49I'm Lucy Yang with Channel 7 Eyewitness News.
03:52Lucy, thank you.
03:53And federal investigators swarmed the suspect's home in Torrance, California, outside Los Angeles, as Lucy was just telling us.
04:00Reporter Monica DeAnda from our sister station KABC has the story.
04:05The suspect, 31-year-old Cole Allen, reportedly lives at this home that you see right here behind me.
04:10Now, we were here all morning long, and we saw federal agents coming in and out of the home.
04:14They were truly here from midnight yesterday, even before then, up until about 6 o'clock Pacific Standard Time this
04:21morning,
04:21executing presumably that search warrant and gathering evidence.
04:24Allen is the man accused of firing shots at last night's White House Correspondents' Dinner.
04:29Take a look.
04:30This video shows you the moment FBI agents swarmed this home on Gray Mercy Avenue in Torrance late last night.
04:36The law enforcement presence was massive and included FBI agents in tactical gear and armored vehicles.
04:42At one point, Air 7 video appears to show federal agents speaking with people who live at this home.
04:48Later, it appeared spotlights were focused on a second-story window and the front door.
04:52Agents finally made entry shortly before midnight.
04:55And as this was all unfolding, the mayor of Torrance, George Chen spoke to us right here at the scene.
05:00The city of Torrance is a very friendly and a safe city.
05:04An incident like this puts us on the national spotlight.
05:09And of course, we were against violence of any kind, political or racial or any type.
05:16And, you know, we're very, very happy that the first responders' agencies in D.C. captured the perpetrator immediately.
05:26But, you know, the fact that his home is here doesn't define, you know, the city of Torrance this way.
05:33You know, the action of one person does not represent the entire city.
05:37Here's what we are just learning about the suspect.
05:4031-year-old Cole Allen graduated from Caltech in 2017 and from Cal State University Dominguez Hills in 2025.
05:47That's according to representatives for both schools.
05:50According to a LinkedIn page connected to the suspect, Allen is a trained mechanical engineer who now works as a
05:56tutor.
05:57His current employer, C2 Education, named Allen Teacher of the Month just last year.
06:02Allen is in custody and is believed to have acted alone.
06:05We've also learned two firearms and multiple knives were recovered.
06:09Right now, Allen is currently being held at the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department's 3rd District after being released from
06:15an area hospital overnight.
06:17And Allen is expected to make his first court appearance tomorrow.
06:20Reporting in Torrance, I'm Monica DeAnda. Back to you.
06:23Monica, thank you.
06:24One person who sat very close to President Trump last night, ABC White House correspondent Karen Travers.
06:31She told ABC's This Week, the president was in a good mood and within an instant, pandemonium broke out.
06:38He was chatting at that point with the night's entertainer, mentalist Ose Perlman and the first lady.
06:43You could see him showing him a magic trick at that point when the incident started unfolding.
06:47So I was actually doing a trick for the press secretary where she was thinking of a name.
06:51Watch them react. You can see Ouija to the left.
06:54And the president gives a smile because they just saw it go, oh my God.
06:56Then they saw what's going on in the audience.
06:58So the trick directly went into the sudden sense of tremendous danger.
07:05Press Secretary Caroline Levitt was sitting to my left.
07:08She told me, get down.
07:09We fell from our seats to the floor and just a few feet away from me, the president was underneath
07:14Secret Service agents.
07:15George, he was quickly rushed off the stage.
07:18Some people on the stage then crawled off to get backstage as well.
07:21Secret Service told me, several of my colleagues on the board of the White House Correspondents Association to stay as
07:27low as possible.
07:28And Travers ended up waiting in an area backstage while the Secret Service decided what to do next.
07:34And now we know what they did next.
07:36They called off the rest of the dinner.
07:39Also appearing on this week was ABC's Jonathan Karl, who spoke about getting an unexpected phone call this morning from
07:47the president.
07:48Shortly after 7 a.m., my landline, George, actually a number that few people call, and it was President Trump
07:54calling.
07:56He was, he said at first he was calling to see if I was okay.
07:59He reiterated many of the things he said in his press conference last night, emphasizing the unity that he felt
08:06in that moment,
08:07that he felt at the dinner before the shooting.
08:11He said absolutely, and he was quite firm about this, that dinner must be rescheduled.
08:18Now, this shooting happened just weeks before the kickoff of the FIFA World Cup and America's 250th birthday celebration.
08:25Security will be paramount to protect everyone in attendance.
08:29And today, New York City's emergency management conducted a full-scale emergency response drill
08:34to prepare first responders for a worst-case scenario.
08:39Eyewitness News reporter Sonia Rincon joins us from Randall's Island, where the exercise took place.
08:46Sonia.
08:47Sonia and Joe, we New Yorkers are going to be hosting some big crowds this summer between the World Cup
08:52games and the nation's 250th.
08:54So anytime there's an emergency in a crowd, it really helps to have people around who know how to keep
09:01everybody safe.
09:02And this is exactly why the city trains regular New Yorkers for something called NYC CERT.
09:08That's the Community Emergency Response Team.
09:11Today here on Randall's Island at the FDNY Fire Academy, they got some very realistic training for all kinds of
09:17emergencies.
09:18Any injuries you're seeing here are 100% fake.
09:22The fire is obviously real and well-controlled by the academy professionals.
09:27And this is how dozens of CERT members, old and new, walked away from here with a skill set, ready
09:33to help in a crisis.
09:35Again, they are regular New Yorkers who've passed background checks and have agreed to commit their time to this training
09:42and volunteer service.
09:45They train in basic search and rescue, medical care, situational awareness, traffic control.
09:51But, you know, some of these people have been CERT members for probably going on like two decades now.
09:56And so we all need a little training now and then.
09:59Having these trained members out there in the community that we could activate at any time is a huge benefit
10:04to us.
10:07And a huge benefit to any one of us should we find ourselves in an emergency, a hazardous situation, or
10:14a safety threat like what we saw last night in Washington.
10:17Again, we are going to be hosting a lot of guests this summer here in the city.
10:21And now the city is just a little more prepared to keep them and ourselves safe.
10:26Live on Randall's Island, Sonia Rincon, Channel 7 Eyewitness News.
10:30All right, Sonia, thank you.
10:31There is still more news to cover this Sunday evening.
10:34Still ahead, an Eyewitness News exclusive.
10:37We have video of the moments after a disagreement in a deli spills outside and ends with a worker dead.
10:44And two for the price of one.
10:46The Mets and Rockies go head-to-head twice out in Queens.
10:50Highlights from Citi Field later in sports.
10:53And we had a bit of a late-inning rally, you could call it, in the weather department.
10:5656 right now.
10:57The Sun made an appearance this afternoon.
10:58But we have Frost Advisories Western New Jersey tonight.
11:01A couple of warmer days coming up before things go downhill with more rain on the way this week in
11:05your AccuWeather forecast.
11:11Tragedy outside of an East Village deli.
11:14Someone gunned down a deli worker on the job last night.
11:17Eyewitness News reporter Kimberly Richardson joins us with the latest.
11:20And, Kimberly, you actually met the victim last year for another story, correct?
11:25Guys.
11:27Oh, I think maybe.
11:29By now, Abdul Saleh is shot but still alive.
11:33In this exclusive video obtained by Eyewitness News, you see Abdul's brother desperately trying to get the suspected gunman off
11:41Abdul.
11:41It all went down here in the East Village Saturday evening.
11:45What I heard was a pop, pop, pop.
11:48What I saw was my friend dying on the corner.
11:51In front of Abdul's family-owned business, Sal's Deli, at Avenue B and 13th Street.
11:57It's where I met him nearly one year to the day.
11:59As the city was looking to add more panic buttons in bodegas, this spot didn't have one.
12:05Always something happened and nobody really cared.
12:07At the time, Abdul told me he was worried about violence in delis that he'd seen on social media.
12:13People got shot, killed.
12:16Sometimes he got robbed and the police never responds quick.
12:20They always come like three, four hours late.
12:22For you?
12:23For us, yes. Sometimes it happens.
12:25Police say this started inside the deli.
12:27Witnesses say video shows Abdul and the 28-year-old man arguing.
12:30It spilled outside where Abdul was shot in the stomach.
12:34He was whispering things to his brother, praying and telling him he's going to be okay,
12:39and I'm telling him he's going to be okay.
12:40He will help anybody. He will give their shirts.
12:43If he had to give his shirt off his back to the person, he would do that.
12:46Friends say Abdul had just come back from Yemen, where his family lives.
12:51He FaceTimed his daughter and showed her my dog.
12:55Just yesterday.
12:56About a half an hour before it happened.
12:58The man police believe pulled the trigger, was hit with a ricochet.
13:02He stumbled away and collapsed and was taken to the hospital
13:05as this very tight-knit community remembers a man who had a heart of gold.
13:11Even when I was younger and I would go in hungry, didn't have money,
13:15and they would say, don't worry, tell your father to just pay me back.
13:21And Abdul not only worked here, he lived here with his family,
13:25who everybody considers the heart and soul of this community.
13:28This time last year, Abdul told me his greatest concern was shoplifting.
13:33It's not clear what sparked this violence.
13:35In just about an hour, reps from the United Bodegas America
13:39will gather here to speak about this incident.
13:42They're pointing out that to date,
13:43they've installed 400 panic buttons in businesses across the city.
13:48For now, we're live in the East Village,
13:50Kimberly Richardson, Channel 7, Eyewitness News.
13:53Kimberly, thank you.
13:54We'll have an update at 11 o'clock on that news conference.
13:58No rain on this final Sunday of April, but what about the week ahead?
14:02That's right.
14:02Up next, Jeff Smith has your exclusive AccuWeather forecast.
14:09Welcome back to Eyewitness News at 6.
14:11Sunshine making a strong appearance on this Sunday afternoon
14:14after the soaking beneficial, I might add, rainfall that we got yesterday into last night.
14:18But there's a live look down toward downtown Manhattan right now.
14:2156 degrees, northeast wind coming in about 8 or so miles per hour.
14:25The high was a tick higher, about 57 after a morning low of 42.
14:29That 57, though, still a good 9 degrees below average for this time of the year.
14:32The record 92 on this date back in 2009.
14:36After midnight last night, we still got a tenth of an inch of rain.
14:38But if you add in the rainfall that we got before midnight,
14:41we totaled 1.39 inches in New York City,
14:43even over an inch and a half in a place like Newark.
14:45And that will help to slightly alleviate the moderate drought
14:48that's been occurring across much of our area.
14:51Look at this.
14:51The combination of the moisture from that rainfall that we got last night
14:54and the cooler temperatures tonight mean frost will be a possibility
14:57from Sussex down through Warren, let's say Hunterdon County,
15:00all the way towards Somerset County as well.
15:02These are areas where the growing season has begun.
15:05And sensitive plants will be at risk overnight tonight with some scattered frost.
15:09Again, generally across western New Jersey into very early tomorrow morning.
15:12Tomorrow's a warmer day.
15:14Temperatures in the seasonably mild middle 60s,
15:17about average for this time of the year.
15:18Similar temperatures on Tuesday, but with increasing amounts of cloud cover.
15:21And then things go downhill by later Wednesday, especially into Wednesday night.
15:25A shower can't be ruled out Wednesday afternoon,
15:27but the steadier rain should wait until Wednesday night,
15:29and that could be another beneficial soaking rainfall on the way.
15:32Middle 50s right now in the city,
15:34more like lower 60s well inland north and west overnight.
15:37Tonight dropping down into the 30s in these normally cooler spots.
15:40Look at tomorrow, great day out there.
15:42Numbers rising into the middle,
15:44and perhaps even upper 60s might touch 70 on a couple of thermometers well north and west.
15:49Mainly clear for tonight, we're down to about 46, mostly sunny, warmer tomorrow.
15:53That high getting into the middle 60s.
15:55Clear skies tomorrow night, back down to about 48 degrees.
15:58Here's your AccuWeather seven-day forecast.
16:00Any early sunshine giving way to clouds on Tuesday.
16:03That high getting up to about 65.
16:05We're dry during the day on Tuesday, though.
16:07On Wednesday, it's a cloudy day.
16:09There can be a shower passing through during the afternoon.
16:12There's a steady soaking rain, though, on tap for Wednesday night,
16:15and that can even last into early Thursday.
16:1859 for a high Thursday.
16:19Maybe some late-day sun if we're lucky.
16:22A breezy blend of sun and clouds to ring in May on Friday.
16:24Only 58, and only stuck in the upper 50s next Saturday and Sunday,
16:28despite a little bit of sunshine.
16:30Monday.
16:31Monday, there you go.
16:32That's an easy one.
16:33Clear Tanya Rivero pick of the week right there.
16:35Tomorrow, tomorrow.
16:36It's too early in the week for the pick of the week.
16:38I know, I know.
16:39More to look forward to.
16:41Big game Tuesday night.
17:06Big game Tuesday night.
17:07Big game Tuesday night.
17:08Big game Tuesday night.
17:12Big game Tuesday night.
17:13Big game Tuesday night.
17:16Big game Tuesday night.
17:18Big game Tuesday night.
17:19Big game Tuesday night.
17:19Big game Tuesday night.
17:21Big game Tuesday night.
19:29I mean, it's pretty simple.
19:30If the team that we saw last night shows up Tuesday night, the Knicks are going to have
19:33no problem.
19:34But as we've seen in these playoffs and in playoffs of yesteryear, if you will, sometimes
19:39we don't know which Knicks team is going to show up.
19:41So here's hoping it's the team we saw last night.
19:43We'll find out Tuesday.
19:43We're a good one.
19:44We're a good one.
19:45Thanks, Ryan.
19:46The pick of the week.
19:46That's right.
19:47That's the news for now.
19:48Thanks for joining us.
19:49See you at 11.
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