Gunman Killed Near White House, Washington D.C. Shooting

Shortly before 6 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, the area immediately surrounding the White House complex transformed into an active crime scene when a man later identified as Nasire Best, 21, of Maryland, approached a U.S. Secret Service security checkpoint at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, reached into his bag, and opened fire on uniformed officers stationed at the post. Secret Service personnel returned fire, fatally wounding Best. He was transported to George Washington University Hospital, where he later died. A civilian bystander was also struck during the exchange of gunfire and remains in critical condition. No Secret Service agents were hospitalized.

The White House was placed on immediate lockdown, briefly trapping reporters, photographers, and White House staff inside the complex. Journalists described hearing between 15 and 30 rapid gunshots in close succession — an extraordinary sound in a space calibrated for managed access and disciplined security protocols. The lockdown was lifted after law enforcement confirmed the threat had been neutralized.

Who Was Nasire Best? A Profile of the Suspect

The picture emerging of Nasire Best is not one of a shadowy, unknown actor but of an individual whose trajectory was, to a disturbing degree, visible to law enforcement well in advance of Saturday’s attack. According to multiple sources cited by CNN, Fox News Digital, and CBS News, Best was not a stranger to the Secret Service. He had prior documented encounters with the agency spanning at least a year before the shooting.

In June 2025, Best reportedly blocked an entry lane at the White House perimeter. During that incident, he claimed to officers that he was “God.” He was subsequently detained by the Secret Service and committed to the Psychiatric Institute of Washington for a mental health evaluation. The following month — July 2025 — he was arrested again after attempting to enter a White House complex driveway. A judge issued a formal stay-away order requiring him to remain off White House grounds. Court records reviewed by CNN further detail a separate incident in which local police arrested Best while he was claiming to be Jesus Christ. His social media presence, examined by investigators in the wake of those incidents, reportedly contained a post that appeared to threaten violence against President Trump, as well as another post in which he described himself as “the son of God.”

Best had been living in the Washington, D.C., area for approximately 18 months, according to a source familiar with the investigation cited by CBS News. He was armed with a revolver at the time of the attack. The number of shots fired — estimated at between 15 and 30 rounds — suggests a sustained, deliberate assault rather than an impulsive act.

President Trump Briefed; Vice President’s Whereabouts Unclear at Time of Incident

According to a White House official and a Secret Service spokesperson, President Donald Trump was inside the White House residence at the time of the shooting and was unharmed. He was subsequently briefed on the incident by Secret Service leadership. Vice President JD Vance had been at the White House earlier in the day, though officials did not immediately confirm whether he was present during the attack itself.

The shooting took place on the west end of Pennsylvania Avenue, a pedestrian plaza that runs along the northern side of the White House complex, near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Notably, portions of this plaza had only recently been reopened to the public following a monthslong closure — a timeline that will likely draw scrutiny from security analysts in the days ahead.

Third Incident Near Trump in Under a Month

Saturday’s incident does not exist in isolation. According to CNBC, it marks the third firearms-related incident in the vicinity of President Trump in under 30 days — a pattern that speaks to a broader, intensifying threat environment around the current administration. Gun advocacy organization Brady United noted in a statement Saturday that threats against the White House have historical precedent, citing documented shootings near the complex in 1994 and 2011, but characterized the present moment as part of a uniquely American surge in political violence. The April 25, 2026, shooting outside the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton — in which suspect Cole Tomas Allen was charged with attempting to assassinate Trump administration officials — remains under active prosecution.

For security professionals, the pattern raises structural questions. The U.S. Secret Service investigates tens of thousands of threatening communications annually, and the agency’s own statistics point to a sharp increase in incidents involving armed individuals near protected sites since 2020. The fact that Best had a stay-away court order on record and had been previously committed for psychiatric evaluation — and yet still managed to approach a checkpoint with a loaded revolver — will inevitably prompt a review of how known-threat individuals are tracked and intercepted before they can act.

Eyewitnesses and Media Caught in the Crossfire

Several journalists working on White House grounds captured dramatic footage of the aftermath. ABC News correspondent Selina Wang filmed the moments immediately following the gunfire. CBS News associate producer Aaron Navarro was also on the grounds when the incident occurred. A CBS News crew preparing to record a segment for “CBS Weekend News” reported hearing what they described as multiple gunshots nearby and taking cover before being ushered into the White House building by agents. These firsthand accounts have added visceral detail to the official record and underscore that the attack occurred within earshot of an active press pool — a rare and sobering reality for a site typically defined by security theater and choreographed access.

What Comes Next: Security Review, Congressional Scrutiny, and Ongoing Investigation

The FBI and Secret Service are conducting a joint investigation into the circumstances of Saturday’s attack. Investigators will examine Best’s complete background, his communications history, the weapon used, and how a man with a documented court order and prior psychiatric commitments was able to reach an active checkpoint. The critical condition of the wounded bystander — whose identity has not been publicly released — adds urgency to those findings, as does the question of whether officers or the attacker fired the round that struck that individual.

Congress is expected to request a security briefing in the coming days. The parallel question of mental health adjudication and firearm access is already being raised by advocates and legislators alike. Under current federal law, individuals involuntarily committed to a psychiatric institution are prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms. Whether Best legally or illegally obtained the revolver used in Saturday’s attack is a critical line of inquiry that investigators are actively pursuing.

What is not in question is the outcome: a 21-year-old man is dead, a civilian bystander is fighting for their life, and the already-elevated security posture surrounding the forty-seventh president of the United States has once again been tested — this time, successfully. The Secret Service’s response was rapid and decisive. The harder audit is what the threat assessment process failed to prevent from reaching that checkpoint in the first place.

This article is based on information available as of 12:00 AM EDT, May 24, 2026. Investigative findings are preliminary. Details, identities, and legal determinations remain subject to official confirmation. This report will be updated as developments unfold.