The individual who was shot and killed by Secret Service agents after allegedly initiating gunfire at a White House security checkpoint on Saturday had a known history of law enforcement encounters and mental health issues.
“A huge thank you to our remarkable Secret Service and law enforcement for their quick and professional response this evening against an armed individual near the White House, who had a history of violence and may have been fixated on our nation’s most iconic building,” President Donald Trump expressed on Truth Social early Sunday.
“The shooter was neutralized after exchanging gunfire with Secret Service agents near the White House gates,” he confirmed.
The deceased shooter was identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best from Maryland. According to a July 2025 filing in D.C. Superior Court, he was previously “known to the United States Secret Service” in the vicinity of the White House.
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A 21-year-old, armed with a revolver, was fatally shot after exchanging gunfire with Secret Service agents at the gates of the White House, President Trump announced.
In that incident, Best walked into a restricted area at a White House pedestrian access control post, ignored commands to stop and “claimed he was Jesus Christ and that he wanted to get arrested,” according to the filing. He was arrested on an unlawful entry charge in that incident.
The filing said Best interacted with the Secret Service, walking around the White House complex and asking how to gain access at various entry posts. It also said he had been involuntarily committed in June 2025 after obstructing vehicle entry to the White House complex.
Officers requested a stay-away order barring Best from the White House area after the July arrest, according to the filing.
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The map of the Secret Service-involved White House security checkpoint shooting Saturday. (Fox News)
The New York Post reported that a bench warrant was later issued after Best failed to appear for a subsequent hearing.
Then, Saturday, Best approached a checkpoint near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW shortly after 6 p.m. ET, pulled a gun from a bag and opened fire on Secret Service officers. Officers returned fire, striking Best, who was taken to a hospital and later died.
A bystander was also wounded, though officials had not said who fired the round that struck that person or released the person’s condition. No Secret Service agents were injured. Trump was inside the White House at the time and was briefed on the shooting.
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FBI and other federal law enforcement agents respond to a shooting near the White House in Washington, D.C., on May 23, 2026. (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
His overnight post added a call for White House security, which is being removed from the Senate’s now-stalled budget reconciliation package.
“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.,” Trump’s post concluded. “The National Security of our Country demands it!”
The shooting briefly placed the White House on lockdown. Reporters on the North Lawn were rushed into the press briefing room as agents responded with weapons drawn. The lockdown was lifted at 6:46 p.m. ET.
Authorities had not announced a motive as of early Sunday. The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting the Secret Service and Metropolitan Police Department in the investigation.
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