A suspect who shot at a White House checkpoint has been murdered in an exchange of fire with Secret Service agents on Saturday evening, officials have confirmed.
CBS has named the suspect as Nasire Best, a 21-year-old man who was known to the protection agency and had a documented history of mental health conditions.
US President Donald Trump thanked the officers for their “swift and professional action” in apprehending the gunman, who he said in a Truth Social post had a “violent history and possible obsession with our Country’s most cherished structure”.
The shooting comes only a month after a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The incident on Saturday remains under investigation and road closures around the White House will likely stay in place overnight.
Shortly before 18:00 local time (23:00 GMT), a man pulled a gun from his bag and “began firing” outside the White House at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington DC, near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Secret Service officers posted on the corner returned fire, striking the gunman. He was then taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A bystander was also wounded in the shooting, but the Secret Service did not give further details on their condition. No officers were injured in the attack.
Trump was at the White House at the time, but “no protectees or operations were impacted”, the agency said.
The suspect was later identified in US media as Best, who had been known to both the Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department and had used a revolver, law enforcement sources told CBS.
A source familiar with the investigation told CBS that Best had attempted to gain entry to the White House in July 2025 and had been arrested by officers nearby, after which he spent time at a psychiatric facility. He had been living in Washington DC for 18 months.
