Gunman who opened fire near White House was known to Secret Service

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

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.

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 said. Officers returned fire, the agency said, striking the suspect.

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.

Donald Trump, who was inside the White House at the time of the incident, claimed the gunman as having “a violent history” and a “possible obsession” with the White House. The US president praised the “swift and professional action” of law enforcement officials on social media.

The individual – identified in US media reports as Nasire Best – was “known to the Secret Service” for “walking around the White House complex inquiring how to gain access at various entry points” on multiple occasions last summer, according to a July 2025 court filing.

He was involuntarily committed on 26 June 2025 for “obstructing vehicle entry” 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.

Best claimed to be Jesus and said “that he wanted to get arrested”, according to the filing. A judge issued a “stay away order”, 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.

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

The FBI is assisting the Secret Service and local police in the investigation.

The incident came a month after a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at a Washington hotel.

Trump said it “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, DC”, in an apparent reference to his contentious ballroom plans.