Secret Service Kills Nasire Best After He Opens Fire on White House Checkpoint

A gunman opened fire on a U.S. Secret Service checkpoint near the White House at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW on Saturday evening, and Secret Service agents returned fire, striking the suspect who later died at a hospital.

“A man has been shot dead by US Secret Service officers after opening fire on a security checkpoint near the White House, with a bystander wounded in the gunfire”

Al Jazeera

The BBC reported that the shooting began just after 18:00 local time, with President Donald Trump at the White House but unharmed, and that no officers were injured.

Al Jazeera

CBS News said the suspect was identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best, and that the incident involved a revolver as the gunman fired several shots toward a Secret Service booth.

The incident briefly locked down the White House, and reporters were rushed inside as Secret Service agents urged them to seek shelter in the press briefing room after gunshots were heard on the North Lawn.

Multiple outlets tied the suspect to prior interactions with law enforcement, with the BBC saying Nasire Best was known to the Secret Service and had a documented history of mental health conditions.

CBS News said Best had a previous run-in with Secret Service in July 2025 when he tried to gain entry to the White House, was arrested, and spent time at a psychiatric ward for mental health issues.

Al-Jazeera Net

USA Today reported that court records show Best, of Dundalk, Maryland, was charged in DC Superior Court with attempting to unlawfully enter 1699 State Place NW on July 10, 2025, and that an affidavit said he allegedly said he was Jesus Christ and wanted to be arrested.

The Guardian added that court records show Best was known to the Secret Service for “walking around the White House complex inquiring how to gain access at various entry points” and that a judge issued a “stay away order” after a July 10 hearing.

After the shooting, President Donald Trump thanked officers for their “swift and professional action,” and the BBC said he wrote that the incident showed how important it was “for all future Presidents, to get, what will be, the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington.”

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised the Secret Service’s “decisive actions” to protect the president and others, while House Speaker Mike Johnson said, “We live in a heightened threat environment, it's a very serious issue.”

The Guardian reported that the FBI is assisting the Secret Service and local police in the investigation, and that the incident came a month after a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner.

NPR described the Saturday incident as the third time in the past month that shots were fired near President Donald Trump, and said a bystander was struck but it wasn’t clear whether the person was hit by the suspect’s initial bullets or those fired by officers.