25 May 2026

Helen Sullivanand

Tabby Wilson

A gunman who shot at a White House security checkpoint was killed in an exchange of fire with Secret Service agents on Saturday evening, officials have confirmed.

The suspect was Nasire Best, a 21-year-old man, the Metropolitan Police Department told the BBC. He reportedly was known to police and had a documented history of mental health conditions.

Gunfire rang out just after 18:00 local time (23:00 GMT) - reporters filming outside ducked and ran for cover inside the White House.

US President Donald Trump was at the White House but was unharmed. He thanked officers for their "swift and professional action". The shooting comes a month after a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents' Dinner.

The incident began when Best pulled a gun from his bag and "began firing" outside the White House at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington DC, near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

Secret Service officers posted on the corner returned fire, striking the gunman. Best was then taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A bystander was also wounded in the shooting, but the Secret Service did not give further details on their condition. No officers were injured in the attack.

Trump was at the White House at the time, but officials said no "protectees" or operations were impacted.

Best used a revolver during the shooting, law enforcement sources told CBS News, the BBC's US media partner.

A source familiar with the investigation told CBS that Best had attempted to gain entry to the White House in July 2025 and had been arrested by officers nearby, after which he spent time at a psychiatric facility. He had been living in Washington DC for 18 months.

"Thank you to our great Secret Service and Law Enforcement for the swift and professional action taken this evening against a gunman near the White House," Trump wrote on social media.

Noting that the shooting had occurred since the White House Correspondents' Dinner was disrupted by a different gunman, he said it showed how important it was "for all future Presidents, to get, what will be, the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington" - a reference to his planned White House ballroom.

On Sunday morning, US House Speaker Mike Johnson said: "We live in a heightened threat environment, it's a very serious issue."

Johnson said he spoke to Trump after the shooting but the president did not mention it, adding he "accepts it" as a "risk of the job".

Writing on X, Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised the Secret Service's "decisive actions" to protect the president and others.

After shots were heard, reporters at the White House were rushed into a briefing room. Some had been filming when the incident occurred and shots could be heard in the distance as they spoke to camera.

Footage shared by ABC's senior White House correspondent Selina Wang showed her taking cover as a volley of shots could be heard from across the North Lawn.

"We were told to sprint to the press briefing room where we are holding now," Wang wrote on X.

Aaron Navarro, a CBS News reporter, told the BBC he had been on the North Lawn when he heard gunshots, "at points sounding like they were coming from different guns, just outside the grounds".

"As soon as we heard it, we ducked down and I started to see other reporters starting to run, and you shortly heard Secret Service officers saying 'get inside, get inside'," he said.

Once inside, he said reporters were locked down in the press briefing room for around 30 minutes. Outside, they saw Secret Service officers and then, just beyond the grounds, they eventually saw ambulances.

Navarro said it was unclear exactly where Trump was inside the White House when the shooting took place and "whether he even heard it, as it was a good distance [away]".

He said the shooting took place in a busy area with a cafe and restaurants, but that it was not as busy as it could have been since the shooting occurred on a weekend evening.