A suspect identified as Nasire Best, shot by Secret Service after opening fire at a White House checkpoint, has died, according to the agency.
WASHINGTON — A person who opened fire Saturday on a White House security checkpoint is dead after being shot by officers who returned fire, the U.S. Secret Service said.
The law enforcement agency said in a preliminary statement posted on X that the person in the area of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue “pulled a weapon from his bag” shortly after 6 p.m. ET and began firing. The officers returned fire, hitting the suspect, who was taken to a hospital where he later died, the Secret Service said.
The suspect was identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best, said a law enforcement official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.
According to District of Columbia court records, Best was arrested in July 2025 after he attempted to enter a different White House checkpoint without authorization, didn’t heed officers’ commands to stop, “claimed he was Jesus Christ” and said he wanted to be arrested. An initial hearing was held, and a “Pretrial Stay Away Order” was issued, typically a measure ordering a defendant not to go near a person or area ahead of trial. A bench warrant was issued in August after a notice of “noncompliance” against Best, who did not show up for a subsequent hearing.
Multiple reports cite sources saying Best had a known history of mental illness.
A bystander was also struck on Saturday, but a law enforcement official said it wasn’t clear whether that person was struck by the suspect’s initial bullets or those fired subsequently by officers.
Secret Service said none of its officers were injured, and that Trump — who was at the White House at the time — was not “impacted.”
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