Secret Service Kills Armed Man at White House Checkpoint; Shooter Had Prior Mental Health Holds and Pending Warrant
Nasire Best, a 21-year-old Maryland man with a documented history of mental health crises and prior encounters at the White House complex, was fatally shot by Secret Service agents Saturday evening after he opened fire at a security checkpoint near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. A bystander was also wounded in the exchange. No Secret Service agents were injured.
Best approached the checkpoint shortly after 6 p.m. ET, pulled a gun from a bag, and fired at officers. Agents returned fire, striking Best, who was transported to a hospital and later died. President Trump was inside the White House at the time and was briefed on the incident.
A Pattern of Prior Incidents
Best was not unknown to federal authorities. According to a July 2025 D.C. Superior Court filing, he had previously been “known to United States Secret Service” around the White House complex, having walked into a restricted area at a pedestrian access control post, ignored commands to stop, and told officers he was Jesus Christ and wanted to be arrested. He was charged with unlawful entry in that incident.
The same filing detailed that Best had been involuntarily committed in June 2025 after obstructing vehicle entry to the White House complex. Officers had requested a stay-away order barring him from the area following his July arrest.
According to the New York Post, a bench warrant was subsequently issued after Best failed to appear for a follow-up hearing — meaning he was effectively a fugitive at the time of Saturday’s shooting.
Lockdown and Investigation
The shooting briefly placed the White House on lockdown. Reporters on the North Lawn were escorted 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 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting the Secret Service and Metropolitan Police Department in the investigation. The condition of the wounded bystander, and whether they were struck by Secret Service or Best’s fire, had not been publicly confirmed.
Trump Uses Shooting to Revive Security Construction Push
Early Sunday, President Trump posted on Truth Social praising the Secret Service response and using the incident to renew his call for expanded White House security infrastructure — a proposal that has been stripped from the Senate’s currently stalled budget reconciliation package.
“This event is one month removed from the White House Correspondents’ 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 wrote.
The shooting comes roughly a month after a separate incident near the White House Correspondents’ Dinner raised questions about security protocols around high-profile events in the capital. Saturday’s events are likely to intensify congressional debate over funding and jurisdiction for White House perimeter security.