A man who opened fire Saturday near a White House security checkpoint was shot and later died at a hospital after Secret Service officers returned fire, the agency said. The incident occurred shortly after 6 p.m. EDT in the area of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, just outside the White House complex.
The U.S. Secret Service identified the attacker as 21-year-old Nasire Best, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. The agency said Best pulled a weapon from a bag and began firing; officers returned fire and struck him. A bystander was also hit, though officials said it was not yet clear whether the person was struck by the suspect’s initial shots or by rounds fired by police. No Secret Service officers were injured.
Best had a prior encounter with authorities relating to the White House. District of Columbia court records show he was arrested in July 2025 after attempting to enter a different White House checkpoint without authorization, failing to comply with officers’ orders, and saying he wanted to be arrested while claiming he was Jesus Christ. A pretrial stay-away order was issued afterward; a bench warrant was issued the following month after a notice of noncompliance, though records indicate he later appeared for another hearing.
The shooting marked the third time in about a month that gunfire was reported in the vicinity of President Donald Trump. In late April, law enforcement said there was an apparent attempt on the president’s life at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner; prosecutors say Cole Tomas Allen ran through a hotel security checkpoint and fired a shotgun at a Secret Service officer, and he has pleaded not guilty to charges related to that incident. On May 4, Secret Service officers shot a suspect who authorities said had fired at officers near the Washington Monument; Michael Marx was charged in that case and a teenage bystander was wounded.
President Trump, who was at the White House at the time of Saturday’s shooting, was not impacted, Secret Service said. He had been scheduled to spend the weekend at his New Jersey golf club but changed plans on Friday and remained at the White House.
FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media that FBI personnel were on the scene and that the agency would update the public as information became available.
Crime-scene evidence was visible on a sidewalk just outside the White House complex, where yellow tape cordoned off an area and officers placed dozens of orange evidence markers. Medical supplies and what appeared to be purple surgical gloves used by emergency personnel were also seen.
Journalists in the White House press area reported hearing multiple gunshots and were told to shelter inside the briefing room. ABC News senior White House correspondent Selina Wang posted video showing herself and others ducking as gunfire rang out; in the video, recorded for a social media post moments earlier, the sounds of shots are audible in the background. Wang’s post was widely shared and viewed millions of times.
The location of the shooting is within walking distance of the site where a gunman ambushed two members of the West Virginia National Guard last November. Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from wounds suffered in that attack; Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe was critically wounded. Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been charged in that case.
Authorities continue to investigate the circumstances of Saturday’s shooting, including the sequence of fire and the source of the round that struck the bystander. The Secret Service and FBI are working together to gather evidence and piece together what happened.