Secret Service officers shot and killed a gunman who opened fire at a White House checkpoint on Saturday evening, wounding a bystander, US officials said.
The attack happened shortly before 6 p.m. local time at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The Secret Service said the man “removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers.” Agents returned fire, struck him, and he later died in hospital.
A bystander was also struck and required surgery, though officials could not immediately say whether the suspect or the return fire caused the wound. No officers were hurt. President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time and was not affected, the agency said, though he was later briefed.
Law enforcement officials identified the suspect as Nasire Best, 21, of Maryland, who was known to the Secret Service and local police and had a documented history of mental health concerns. They said he had been detained in 2025 after trying to enter the White House and was then taken to a psychiatric facility. A motive was not immediately clear, and the investigation continues.
Trump thanked the Secret Service and other officers for their swift response in a post on Truth Social and renewed his call for stronger security at the complex.
The shooting came about a month after a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, an attack officials called an attempted assassination of the president. It also occurred near the site of a November ambush that killed a National Guard soldier.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson praised the Secret Service for its response, with Johnson offering prayers for the wounded.
