Gunman killed after opening fire on Secret Service checkpoint outside White House

The deceased suspect in the shooting outside the White House has been identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

Best had been living in Washington, D.C., for the past approximately 18 months, the source said.

Best had an incident with U.S. Secret Service in July 2025 in which he tried to gain entry to the White House and was arrested near it by Secret Service, the source said. He was sent to a psychiatric ward for mental health issues.

The suspect in Saturday’s shooting outside the White House was previously known to the Metropolitan Police Department and the Secret Service, and he may have had mental health issues, law enforcement sources told CBS News.

The sources said the shooting took place near the Starbucks that is located on Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson both praised the response of the Secret Service to the deadly shooting outside the White House.

In a social media post, Thune said he was “grateful for the Secret Service and the agents’ decisive actions to protect President Trump and everyone at and around the White House this evening.”

Johnson wrote on X, “We are grateful for our brave Secret Service agents who took quick, decisive action to protect President Trump, and our prayers are with the victims of tonight’s senseless shooting for a speedy recovery.”

President Trump has been briefed on the shooting that occurred outside the White House, a White House official told CBS News. 

The Secret Service confirmed that Mr. Trump was at the White House when the incident occurred. 

The president and his team have been busy this weekend working to negotiate a peace deal to end the war with Iran. 

A suspect was shot and killed after opening fire on a U.S. Secret Service checkpoint outside the White House Saturday night, a Secret Service spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News.

According to a preliminary investigation, the suspect approached the checkpoint, pulled a weapon out of his bag and began firing on officers, the spokesperson said.

The Secret Service officers returned fire and struck the suspect. He was taken to a hospital, where he died, the spokesperson said. His name has not been released. 

A bystander was also struck by gunfire, the official disclosed, but it was unclear whether the bystander was hit by gunfire from the suspect or the officers. The bystander’s condition was not immediately provided.

No Secret Service personnel were wounded, the spokesperson said.

President Trump was at the White House during the incident, “but was not impacted,” the spokesperson added.

A suspect began shooting Saturday evening at a security booth outside the White House where U.S. Secret Service officers were on guard inside, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.

The sources said that somewhere between 10 and 20 shots were fired. 

Secret Service officers returned gunfire, wounding the suspect, the sources said, and a bystander was also apparently injured. 

None of the Secret Service officers were believed to have been struck by gunfire, the sources said.

CBS News White House associate producer Emma Nicholson said in a social media post a CBS News crew was preparing to record for “CBS Weekend News” when they heard what sounded like multiple gunshots near the White House and “ducked to the ground.” 

Nicholson said they were then ushered into the White House “shortly after.” 

The shooting comes nearly a month after a gunman breached the security checkpoint outside the Washington, D.C., hotel ballroom where the White House Correspondents’ Dinner was taking place.

 The lockdown at the White House has been lifted, and the press has been allowed back on the White House North Lawn.

Two people were wounded in a shooting near the White House, law enforcement sources told CBS News.

The two people, a suspect and a possible bystander, were taken to an area hospital, the sources said. The suspect was in critical condition, and the second person was in serious condition, the sources said.

The sources said it appears that Secret Service agents were shot at, unsuccessfully, and returned fire.

Somewhere between 15 and 30 gunshots were fired during the incident, according to the sources.

Several Secret Service officers were evaluated at the scene, but none were hospitalized, the sources said.

U.S. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement to CBS News that the agency was aware of “reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW” and is “working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said in a social media post that the FBI was “on scene and supporting the Secret Service.”