{"id":602028,"date":"2026-05-24T22:01:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T22:01:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/602028\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T22:01:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T22:01:15","slug":"gunman-who-opened-fire-near-white-house-was-known-to-secret-service-washington-dc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/602028\/","title":{"rendered":"Gunman who opened fire near White House was known to Secret Service | Washington DC"},"content":{"rendered":"

A gunman who opened fire<\/a> outside the White House on Saturday before he was shot by federal agents was already known to the US Secret Service<\/a>, court records show.<\/p>\n

The man, 21, was taken to a nearby hospital, before he was later pronounced dead. He had previously tried to enter the complex, according to an affidavit filed in DC superior court in 2025, following an arrest nearby.<\/p>\n

The White House was briefly locked down shortly after 6pm on Saturday after the suspect approached a checkpoint at a gate near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, took a pistol out of a bag and fired, the Secret Service<\/a> said. Officers returned fire, the agency said, striking the suspect.<\/p>\n

A bystander was also struck in the exchange, the Secret Service said, but it was unclear whether they were struck by the suspect or shots returned from officers. No agents were injured.<\/p>\n

Donald Trump<\/a>, who was inside the White House at the time of the incident, claimed the gunman as having \u201ca violent history\u201d and a \u201cpossible obsession\u201d with the White House. The US president praised the \u201cswift and professional action\u201d of law enforcement officials on social media.<\/p>\n

The individual \u2013 identified in US media reports as Nasire Best \u2013 was \u201cknown to the Secret Service\u201d for \u201cwalking around the White House complex inquiring how to gain access at various entry points\u201d on multiple occasions last summer, according to a July 2025 court filing.<\/p>\n

US Secret Service agents keep watch on the roof of the White House after a shooting incident nearby on Saturday. Photograph: Nathan Howard\/Reuters<\/p>\n

He was involuntarily committed on 26 June 2025 for \u201cobstructing vehicle entry\u201d to part of the White House complex, the court documents said, and on 10 July of that year he was arrested for unlawful entry after multiple officers confronted him for ignoring warning signs and walking into a restricted area outside the White House.<\/p>\n

Best claimed to be Jesus and said \u201cthat he wanted to get arrested\u201d, according to the filing. A judge issued a \u201cstay away order\u201d, a measure ordering a defendant not to go physically near a person or area before a trial, at an initial hearing that day, barring Best from the White House area.<\/p>\n

The New York Post reported<\/a> that a bench warrant was later issued after Best failed to attend a subsequent hearing. The Washington Post reported<\/a> that an unnamed law enforcement official familiar with the incident described Best as an emotionally disturbed person who was known to law enforcement.<\/p>\n

ABC News reporter Selina Wang ducks for cover as shots are heard near the White House \u2013 Video<\/p>\n

The FBI is assisting the Secret Service and local police in the investigation.<\/p>\n

The incident came a month after a shooting<\/a> at the White House Correspondents\u2019 Association dinner at a Washington hotel.<\/p>\n

Trump said it \u201cgoes 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, DC\u201d, in an apparent reference to his contentious ballroom plans<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A gunman who opened fire outside the White House on Saturday before he was shot by federal agents…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":602029,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[49,50,51,47,52,48],"class_list":["post-602028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=602028"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/602028\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/602029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=602028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=602028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=602028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}