A 21-year-old man was shot and killed by Secret Service officers on Saturday evening after he opened fire at a security checkpoint near the White House in Washington DC, in the third firearms incident in the vicinity of President Donald Trump within the space of a single month.
The suspect, identified by law enforcement officials as Nasire Best from the Maryland area, approached a Secret Service booth at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue shortly after 6pm local time and pulled a weapon from his bag before opening fire on officers stationed there.
Secret Service officers returned fire and struck the suspect, who was transported to George Washington University Hospital where he later died from his injuries.
A bystander was also struck during the exchange of gunfire, though law enforcement officials said it was not immediately clear whether that person was hit by Best’s initial shots or by rounds subsequently fired by officers in response.
Between 15 and 30 gunshots were fired during the incident in total, according to sources familiar with the investigation, though none of the Secret Service officers on duty were struck or hospitalised.
President Trump, who had originally planned to spend the weekend at his New Jersey golf club but changed his plans on Friday to remain at the White House, was described by the Secret Service as not having been impacted by the incident.
The White House was placed under immediate lockdown following the shooting, with journalists and media personnel confined to the North Lawn before the lockdown was lifted after Best’s death was confirmed.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media that agency personnel were at the scene assisting the Secret Service investigation and committed to updating the public as the investigation develops.
The incident is the third time in the past month that shots have been fired near the president, following a separate incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April and another near the Washington Monument earlier in May.
Law enforcement officials said the investigation into Best’s background, motives, and means of obtaining the weapon is ongoing, with the Secret Service confirming he had a prior encounter with the agency in July 2025 in which he attempted to gain unauthorised access to White House grounds.
