A shooting incident outside the White House on Saturday evening has left the armed suspect dead and an uninvolved bystander injured, just one month after a separate security scare at the high-profile White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Court records and law enforcement statements have confirmed the shooter was Nasire Best, a resident of Dundalk, Maryland, who had a repeated history of troubling encounters with federal authorities near the presidential residence dating back to mid-2025.
According to official court documents obtained by law enforcement agencies, Best’s first known confrontation with the United States Secret Service occurred in June 2025, when he blocked a designated vehicle entry lane to the White House complex and told responding agents that he was Jesus Christ, adding that he intended to be taken into custody. Following that incident, Best was ordered to undergo a mandatory mental health evaluation, but the encounter did not result in long-term restrictions that prevented further incursions.
Just one month after that first incident, in July 2025, Best returned to the White House perimeter and attempted to gain unauthorized access to the secured grounds. He was taken into custody by Secret Service agents and formally charged with unlawful entry onto a federally controlled property. After his initial arraignment hearing, Best was released from custody, but court records show he failed to appear for a scheduled status hearing the following August. This absence prompted the issuance of a no-bond bench warrant that authorized law enforcement to take him into custody on sight, though Best was not apprehended before Saturday’s attack.
Less than 12 months after the warrant was issued, Best reemerged at a high-traffic Secret Service checkpoint located at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, steps from the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, just after 6:00 PM Eastern Standard Time (11:00 PM GMT). He immediately opened fire on the checkpoint, catching off-duty members of the press who were reporting from outside the White House off guard. Video footage captured on scene shows reporters diving for cover and fleeing indoors to escape the gunfire.
Secret Service officers stationed at the intersection returned fire immediately, striking the gunman. Best was rushed to a nearby local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. One bystander not affiliated with law enforcement or security operations was wounded during the exchange of gunfire; as of the latest update, the Secret Service has not released additional details regarding the bystander’s identity or current medical condition. No Secret Service officers were injured in the attack.
At the time of the shooting, former President and current U.S. President Donald Trump was inside the White House complex. Official statements confirm that Trump was unharmed, and no protected individuals or core White House operations were affected by the incident. On Saturday evening, Trump publicly thanked law enforcement for their response via social media, writing: “Thank you to our great Secret Service and Law Enforcement for the swift and professional action taken this evening against a gunman near the White House.”
Saturday’s shooting comes just one month after another security incident at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, where an active shooter scare forced an early end to the event, a mass evacuation of hundreds of attendees, and an emergency evacuation of Trump by Secret Service agents. Photographs taken in the aftermath of Saturday’s attack show visible bullet holes and shattered glass at the nearby White House History Shop, a popular tourist location adjacent to the shooting site.