Shooting Incident Near the White House

WASHINGTON (AP) – A person who fired a weapon at a White House security post was shot by responding agents and later died, the United States Secret Service announced Saturday. This marks the third shooting incident near President Donald Trump in the past month.

The Secret Service reported on X that a person near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue “pulled a weapon from their bag” shortly after 6 p.m. Eastern time and began firing. Secret Service agents returned fire, injuring the suspect, who was taken to a hospital, where they later died.

The suspect was identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best, according to a law enforcement official who spoke anonymously as they were not authorized to discuss the investigation. This incident follows two prior shooting incidents near the President, one at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in April and another near the Washington Monument in early May.

A passerby was also injured during the Saturday events, but it wasn’t clear whether they were hit by the suspect’s gunfire or that of the agents. The Secret Service mentioned no agents were hurt and that Trump – who was inside the White House at the time – wasn’t “affected.” Journalists present at the White House reported hearing gunshots and were instructed to seek shelter inside the press briefing room.

Evidence of the shooting was visible on a sidewalk right outside the White House complex. Crime scene tape stretched across the pavement, and Secret Service agents placed numerous orange evidence markers on the ground. Medical materials, such as purple surgical gloves and kits used by emergency medical personnel, were observed.

Selina Wang, ABC News White House Correspondent, posted on X a video capturing the moment she heard what “sounded like dozens of shots” and took cover. While performing a routine task that White House reporters engage in daily – filming herself with a mobile phone for social media posting – Wang can be seen speaking briefly about Trump’s Saturday remarks concerning a potential deal with Iran. As the shots sound in the background, Wang’s eyes widen as she crouches down in the media tent, located on the White House driveway.

By Saturday night, Wang’s video had been shared thousands of times and viewed over 3 million times on X.

The Metropolitan Police Department stated via their X account that the Secret Service is managing the scene and advised people to avoid the area. The scene is close to where an armed man ambushed two members of the West Virginia National Guard last November. U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, succumbed to her injuries. Andrew Wolfe, then 24, was severely injured. Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been charged in connection with that incident.

Saturdays’ shootings come nearly a month after law enforcement officials alleged an assassination attempt on the President on April 25 while attending the annual White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in a Washington hotel. Cole Tomas Allen from California pleaded not guilty to charges of attempting to kill Trump and remains in federal custody.

A few days later, Secret Service agents shot at a suspect who allegedly fired at law enforcement near the Washington Monument, also close to the White House. Michael Marx, 45, from Texas, was charged regarding the May 4 shooting. A teenage passerby was injured during that incident.

Photographers Jose Luis Magana and Alex Brandon, and journalists Gary Fields, Meg Kinnard, and Matthew Daly contributed to this Associated Press report.