Suspect dead after opening fire near White House security checkpoint, Secret Service says

A person who opened fire Saturday at a White House security checkpoint died after being shot by agents who returned fire, the U.S. Secret Service said. This is the third shooting incident near President Trump in the past month.

Law enforcement said in a preliminary statement posted to The officers returned fire, hitting the suspect, who was taken to a hospital where he later died, the Secret Service said.

The suspect was identified as Nasire Best, 21, said a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the investigation.

According to District of Columbia court records, Best was arrested in July 2025 after he attempted to enter another White House checkpoint without authorization, ignored officers’ commands to stop, “claimed he was Jesus Christ” and said he wanted to be arrested.

An initial hearing was held and a “pre-trial dismissal order” was issued, usually a measure ordering a defendant to stay away from a person or area before trial. An arrest warrant was issued in August following a “non-compliance” notice for Best, who failed to appear at a subsequent hearing.

It was the third time in the past month that gunfire has erupted near the president, following incidents at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in April and near the Washington Monument earlier in May.

A bystander was also shot Saturday, but a law enforcement official said it was unclear whether that person was hit by the suspect’s initial bullets or those later fired by officers.

The Secret Service said none of its agents were injured and that Trump — who was at the White House at the time — was not “hit.”

On Saturday evening, journalists working at the White House reported hearing a series of gunshots and were asked to take shelter in the press briefing room.

In a social media post, FBI Director Kash Patel said agents were responding to the shooting and said he would “inform the public to the extent possible.”

Evidence of the shooting was visible on a sidewalk just outside the White House complex, where yellow crime scene tape snaked across the sidewalk and U.S. Secret Service agents placed dozens of orange evidence markers on the ground. Medical equipment, including what appeared to be purple surgical gloves and kits typically used by emergency medical personnel, was also seen.

In an article shared on Writing that she was performing a routine task that White House reporters perform daily — filming herself on a cellphone for a social media post — Wang’s video shows her speaking for a few seconds about Trump’s statements earlier Saturday about a possible Iran deal.

As the sounds of gunfire are heard in the background, Wang’s eyes widen and she ducks into the media tent, which is among those along the White House driveway where broadcasters film their reports. On X, Wang’s video had been shared thousands of times by Saturday evening and viewed at least 3 million times.

The Metropolitan Police Department said on its X account that the Secret Service was working at the scene and warned people to avoid the area. The scene is close to when a gunman ambushed two members of the West Virginia National Guard last November.

US Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her injuries. Andrew Wolfe, then 24 years old, was seriously injured. Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been charged over the incident.

Saturday’s shootings come nearly a month after what law enforcement said was an April 25 assassination attempt on the president while he attended the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at a Washington hotel. Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, recently pleaded not guilty to charges that he tried to kill Trump and remains in federal custody.

Following that alert, Secret Service agents shot a suspect who they said had fired at agents near the Washington Monument, also near the White House. Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in connection with the May 4 shooting. A teenage passerby was injured during this incident.

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Kinnard reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press photojournalists Jose Luis Magana and Alex Brandon and AP writers Gary Fields and Matthew Daly contributed to this report.