Gunman who opened fire near White House was known to Secret Service | Washington DC
Court records show that the gunman who opened fire outside the White House before being shot by federal agents on Saturday was already known to the U.S. Secret Service.
The 21-year-old man was later taken to a nearby hospital before he was pronounced dead. He had previously tried to enter the complex, according to an affidavit filed in D.C. superior court in 2025 following a recent arrest.
The White House was briefly locked down shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday after the suspect approached a checkpoint at a gate near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, pulled a handgun from his purse and fired, the Secret Service said. The agency said officers returned fire and shot the suspect.
The Secret Service said a bystander was also shot during the confrontation, but it is unclear whether these people were shot by the suspect or as a result of gunfire from police. No agents were injured.
Donald Trump, who was in the White House at the time of the incident, claimed that the gunman had a “violent past” and a “possible obsession” with the White House. The US president praised law enforcement’s “swift and professional actions” on social media.
The man, identified in US media reports as Nasire Best, was “known to the Secret Service” for having “roamed the White House complex investigating how to gain access to various entry points” on multiple occasions last summer, according to a July 2025 court filing.
According to court documents, he was arrested involuntarily on June 26, 2025, for “obstructing vehicular access” to part of the White House complex, and on July 10 of that year, he was arrested for unlawful entry after multiple officers confronted him for ignoring warning signs and entering a restricted area outside the White House.
Best claimed to be Jesus and said he “wanted to be arrested,” according to the filing. A judge issued a “stay away order” at the first hearing that day, an injunction ordering the defendant not to go within physical proximity of a person or area before the hearing, barring Best from the White House area.
New York Post reported It was stated that a court order was issued after Best did not attend the next hearing. Washington Post reported An unnamed law enforcement official familiar with the case described Best as an emotionally disturbed individual known to law enforcement.
The FBI is assisting the Secret Service and local police in the investigation.
The incident occurred a month after the shooting at a White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at a hotel in Washington.
In an apparent reference to the controversial ballroom plans, Trump said it would “demonstrate how important it is for all future presidents to get the safest and most secure space of its kind ever built in Washington DC.”
