Nasire Best Killed After Opening Fire at Secret Service Checkpoint Near White House

A gunman identified as Nasire Best, 21, of Dundalk, Md., opened fire near a U.S. Secret Service checkpoint outside the White House on Saturday evening at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, and Secret Service officers returned fire, striking Best and killing him after he was taken to a hospital.

The Secret Service said the suspect “pulled a weapon from his bag and began firing,” and law enforcement said President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time but was not impacted by the incident.

ABC News

CBS News reported Best was a Maryland resident who lived in Dundalk in Baltimore County and had been a member of the track and field team at Dundalk High School, graduating in 2023.

CBS News also reported that Best’s friends described his behavior as changing in recent months, with one friend saying, “He was not thinking. Something had to be wrong when he stopped talking to us.”

The Metropolitan Police Department said a bystander was also struck by gunfire and was taken to a hospital with injuries described as non-life-threatening or serious but stable, depending on the outlet’s framing.

Multiple outlets tied the shooting to Best’s prior interactions with the Secret Service, including a June 26, 2025 mental evaluation after he obstructed vehicle entry to the White House complex and a July 2025 arrest for trying to gain entry to a White House checkpoint.

Court records described Best as claiming he was Jesus Christ and saying he wanted to be arrested, and the CBS News account said a judge issued a pretrial stay-away order after that encounter.

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In Washington, DC, a former special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in D.C. who now heads Guidepost Solutions’ security and technology consulting, John Torres, said, “Political violence] just seems to be ratcheting up and fortunately the Secret Service was prepared for this one,” while also pointing to Best’s past actions.

The Hill reported that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin wrote on X, “I am closely monitoring the shooting incident near the White House and will update the public as we have more information,” and said he was thankful for the Secret Service officers’ action.

Fox 5 DC reported that the Secret Service confirmed a couple of hours after the shooting that Best died after exchanging fire with its agents, and it said investigators were still determining what led to the shooting and whether Best acted alone.

The investigation continued into the shootout between a Maryland resident and Secret Service officers near a White House access checkpoint, with MPD conducting a use of force investigation and a spokesperson saying that if it was determined the bystander was wounded by the suspect’s gun, MPD would investigate that as aggravated assault.

The National News Desk said it was unclear whether the bystander was struck by the suspect or by police firing back, and it quoted Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the U.S. Secret Service, saying, “Beyond that, we do not comment on specific security postures.”

In a separate framing, Euronews said Trump posted on Truth Social that the shooter had a “possible obsession” with the White House and thanked authorities for their “swift and professional action.”

The Hill reported the press pool was rushed into the press briefing room after shots rang out and that the press remained on lockdown for roughly 40 minutes, while DC News Now reported the White House was put into lockdown for 45 minutes.

The Hill also reported that Trump canceled a planned weekend trip to his golf club in Bedminster, N.J., amid reported negotiations with Iran, and it said the incident came after a foiled assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner last month.