A bystander was injured by gunfire during an incident where a man fired upon a checkpoint outside the White House and was subsequently shot by U.S. Secret Service officers. The bystander is in serious but stable condition as of Sunday.
The Secret Service has reported that the bystander, whose identity remains undisclosed, sustained a gunshot wound that is not considered life-threatening. The circumstances surrounding how the bystander was shot remain unclear.
Authorities have provided limited information about the shooting that took place early Saturday evening. According to the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department, the suspect, 21-year-old Nasire Best, began firing toward a White House security checkpoint. Secret Service officers then returned fire. Best, hailing from Dundalk, Maryland, was later declared dead at a hospital.
President Donald Trump was present in the White House during the shooting.
This incident marks the third shooting near the president within a month. Previously, a man attempted to storm the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April with weapons, and Secret Service officers shot and injured another person near the Washington Monument earlier this month.
In a Truth Social post, Trump commented that the suspect in Saturday’s shooting appeared to have a “possible obsession with our Country’s most cherished structure.” He also took the opportunity to advocate for the ballroom he is seeking to build on the site of the former East Wing of the White House. He emphasized the importance of creating “the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C.” Trump is requesting $1 billion from Congress for security enhancements to the White House campus, including the ballroom.
Best had a prior encounter with law enforcement near the White House, as indicated by District of Columbia court records. He was arrested last July after trying to enter White House grounds at a different checkpoint. During that incident, he ignored officers’ commands to stop, claimed to be Jesus Christ, and expressed a desire to be arrested.
Best was a track and field athlete at Dundalk High School, from which he graduated in 2023.
A woman who identified herself as Best’s mother told The Washington Post that she discovered the news of the shooting through social media and was shocked. She stated that her son “was never violent, regardless of what people are posting.”
