White House Shootout: Gunman Neutralized in 3rd Incident Near Trump in a Month
A gunman who opened fire near the White House Saturday evening was shot and neutralized by US Secret Service officers.
The incident marks the third time gunfire erupts in the vicinity of President Donald Trump within a single month, adding to a series of security threats that targeted the US leader.
White House Shootout
The US Secret Service said in a statement that an individual approached a checkpoint at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House shortly after 6 pm EDT, pulled a weapon from his bag and began firing.
In response, Secret Service officers returned fire and shot the suspect, who later died at an area hospital. The statement noted that one bystander was injured during the exchange of gunfire.
The bystander is in critical condition, a law enforcement official told CNN. However, it remains unclear whether the bystander was struck by the suspect’s initial gunfire or during the subsequent exchange of gunfire.
The Secret Service said that Trump was in the White House at the time of the shooting incident but was unaffected. He was briefed on the situation, which remains under investigation.
A History of Security Breaches
The gunman was identified as a 21-year-old emotionally disturbed person named Nasire Best, reported Reuters, AP and CNN citing sources.
Best was detained twice near the White House in the summer of 2025 – once for blocking an entry lane while claiming to be “God,” and again for a restricted driveway breach that resulted in a judicial stay-away order.
Though his social media history revealed threats against President Trump and bizarre claims that he was the “real” Osama bin Laden, authorities note he had no prior history of weapon possession or violent behavior before Saturday’s shootout.
Trump’s Comment
Trump was initially set to spend the weekend at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club, but he abruptly altered his schedule on Friday night to remain at the White House to oversee the unfolding negotiations with Iran.
The sound of 15 to 30 gunshots outside the compound triggered an immediate 40-minute lockdown, forcing members of the White House press corps to flee the North Lawn and shelter in place inside the press briefing room while heavily armed agents took up defensive positions.
In a social media post, Trump thanked the Secret Service and Law enforcement for “the swift and professional action” they took to respond to the threat. He claimed that the suspect “had a violent history and possible obsession with our Country’s most cherished structure.”
“This event is one month removed from the White House Correspondent’s Dinner shooting, and goes to show how important it is, for all future Presidents, to get, what will be, the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C. The National Security of our Country demands it!” Trump wrote.
Escalating Security Threats
The Saturday incident marks the third time in less than a month that active gunfire has disrupted the immediate vicinity of Trump. On May 4, a shootout broke out near the Washington Monument after an armed suspect opened fire on Secret Service officers, resulting in a brief White House lockdown and injuries to a minor bystander.
Less than a month earlier, on April 25, Trump survived a targeted assassination attempt when armed suspect Cole Tomas Allen stormed a security checkpoint at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner with a shotgun and knives, opening fire on Security Service personnel.
Trump had also been the target of two prior assassination attempts. In July 2024, while he was campaigning for reelection, Trump was wounded in his upper ear in a shooting incident during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. The FBI confirmed the shooting was an assassination attempt and identified and neutralized the gunman.
Two months later, Secret Service agents spotted the muzzle of an AK-47-style rifle poking out of the shrubbery that borders Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach, while he was playing. The incident was deemed an assassination attempt and the suspect was sentenced to life in prison in February.
