A 21-year-old man with documented mental health struggles and repeated attempts to access the White House complex was shot and killed by Secret Service officers Saturday evening after opening fire near a security checkpoint, raising urgent questions about gaps in threat assessment and intervention for individuals in crisis.
Authorities identified the suspected gunman as Nasire Best of Dundalk, Maryland, who died at a hospital after the shooting near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. A bystander was also struck by gunfire, though a law enforcement official said it was not clear whether that person was struck by the suspect's initial bullets or those fired subsequently by officers. The Secret Service said none of its officers were injured, though one uniformed agent was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
A Known Individual in Crisis
Court records showed Best had a history of interactions with Secret Service outside the White House. He was charged in D.C. Superior Court with attempting to unlawfully enter 1699 State Place NW, one of the entry points to the White House complex, on July 10, 2025, less than one year ago. Best allegedly said he was Jesus Christ and wanted to be arrested, according to a police affidavit. The Secret Service was familiar with Best allegedly walking around the White House complex inquiring how to gain access at various entry posts. Best was involuntarily committed on June 26, 2025, less than one year ago, by the Secret Service for allegedly obstructing vehicle entry to the White House complex at 15th Street and E Street. He was detained by the Secret Service on June 26, 2025, for flagging down agents and making threats, and again on July 10, 2025, for entering a restricted area.
The Incident
The shooting took place shortly after 6 p.m. near the White House complex on the west side. The Secret Service said the person in the area pulled a weapon from a bag and began firing. The suspect allegedly approached a Secret Service checkpoint near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers. The suspect fired about three shots toward the executive mansion before he was taken down by Secret Service agents, while another account said as many as 30 shots were reportedly heard in the direction of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. President Donald Trump was at the White House at the time and was not impacted.
What sounded like multiple gunshots could be heard in a video posted by ABC News reporter Selina Wang, who wrote that it sounded like dozens of gunshots and that reporters were told to sprint to the press briefing room. CNN reporters on the scene also said they heard what appeared to be dozens of gunshots near the White House complex, and that members of the press corps gathered on the North Lawn were rushed inside while Secret Service agents shouted "get down" and warned of "shots fired." The video shared by Wang had been shared thousands of times and viewed at least 3 million times as of Saturday evening.
Multi-Agency Response
The White House was placed on lockdown and later lifted. The incident prompted a multi-agency law enforcement response. FBI Director Kash Patel said his agency responded to the incident and posted, "FBI is on the scene and supporting Secret Service responding to shots fired near White House grounds." The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Metropolitan Police Department were responding. The Metropolitan Police Department said on X that the Secret Service was working the scene and cautioned people to avoid it. Evidence of the shooting was visible on a sidewalk just outside the White House complex, where yellow crime scene tape snaked across the pavement and officers with the U.S. Secret Service placed dozens of orange evidence markers on the ground. Medical material, including what appeared to be purple surgical gloves and kits typically used by emergency medical personnel, were also seen.
Recent Pattern of Violence
The incident was the third incidence of gunfire in the vicinity of President Donald Trump in the past month. The gunfire Saturday came nearly a month after what law enforcement authorities said was an attempted assassination of the president on April 25 as he attended the annual event at a Washington hotel within the same year. Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, recently pleaded not guilty to charges that he attempted to kill Trump and remains in federal custody. Following that scare, Secret Service officers shot a suspect they said had fired at officers near the Washington Monument, also near the White House, on May 4 the same month. Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in connection with the May 4 shooting, and a teenage bystander was wounded in that incident.
The scene was near where a gunman ambushed two members of the West Virginia National Guard last November less than one year ago. U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her wounds, Andrew Wolfe, then 24, was critically wounded, and Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been charged in that incident.
Trump thanked "our great Secret Service and Law Enforcement for the swift and professional action" in a Truth Social post early Sunday on May 24. Trump wrote that the gunman was dead after an exchange of gunfire with Secret Service agents near the White House gates and said the shooting underscored the need for stronger security protections around the White House. Trump was working in the White House Saturday on the Iran peace process and had posted on social media from the Oval Office less than two hours before the shooting, saying a peace deal had been "largely negotiated" and that details would be released shortly.
Why This Matters:
The shooting death of Nasire Best highlights systemic failures in mental health intervention and threat assessment. Despite multiple documented encounters with law enforcement, including involuntary commitment and repeated attempts to breach White House security less than one year ago, Best was able to obtain a weapon and approach a security checkpoint. The fact that a bystander was struck by gunfire—with uncertainty about whether the wound came from the suspect or responding officers—underscores the public safety risks when armed confrontations occur in densely populated areas. The incident is part of a troubling pattern of violence near the White House in recent months, including the wounding of a teenage bystander in a separate shooting and the death of a National Guard member in an ambush. These events raise questions about the adequacy of mental health services, gun access controls, and coordinated threat management systems designed to prevent individuals in crisis from obtaining weapons and reaching high-security locations.