Suspect in White House shooting killed by Secret Service

The suspect in a shooting near the White House was killed in an exchange of fire with Secret Service agents on Saturday evening, officials confirmed.

CBS named the suspect as Nasire Best, a 21-year-old man known to the Secret Service who had a documented history of mental health conditions.

In a post on Truth Social, Donald Trump thanked the Secret Service for their "swift and professional action" in stopping the gunman, who he said had a "violent history and possible obsession with our Country's most cherished structure."

The shooting came one month after a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

The incident remains under investigation, and road closures around the White House are expected to stay in place overnight.

Shortly before 6 p.m. on Saturday, a man pulled a gun from his bag and began firing outside the White House at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Secret Service officers returned fire and struck the gunman. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A bystander was also wounded, though the Secret Service gave no further details on the person's condition. No officers were injured.

Trump was at the White House at the time, but "no protectees or operations were impacted," the Secret Service said.

CBS and other U.S. media identified the suspect as Nasire Best. He was known to both the Secret Service and the Metropolitan Police Department, and he used a revolver, law enforcement sources told CBS.

A source familiar with the investigation told CBS that Best had tried to enter the White House in July 2025 and was arrested nearby by Secret Service agents. He later spent time in a psychiatric facility. He had been living in Washington, D.C., for 18 months.

"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," Trump wrote.

He noted that the shooting came one month after the White House Correspondents' Dinner incident and said it showed the need "for all future Presidents, to get, what will be, the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington."

After the shots were heard, reporters at the White House were rushed into a briefing room. Some had been filming when the incident occurred, and shots could be heard in the distance.

Footage shared by ABC senior White House correspondent Selina Wang showed her taking cover as shots rang out across the North Lawn.

"We were told to sprint to the press briefing room where we are holding now," Wang wrote on X.

CBS News reporter Aaron Navarro told the BBC he was on the North Lawn when he heard the gunshots, "at points sounding like they were coming from different guns, just outside the grounds."

"As soon as we heard it we ducked down and I started to see other reporters starting to run, and you shortly heard Secret Service officers saying get inside, get inside," Navarro said.

Reporters were locked down in the briefing room for about 30 minutes. Outside, they saw Secret Service officers and, beyond the grounds, ambulances.

Navarro said it was unclear where Trump was inside the White House and whether he heard the shots. The shooting took place in a busy area with a cafe and restaurants, though it was less crowded because it was after work hours on a weekend.