At shortly after 6pm ET on Saturday May 23 2026, a man walked up to a security checkpoint outside the White House complex at the intersection of 17th Street NW and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. He reached into his bag, pulled out a weapon, and began firing at Secret Service officers stationed at the booth.
Officers returned fire. The suspect was hit and taken to George Washington University Hospital, where he later died from his wounds. A bystander nearby was also struck and taken to hospital in critical condition. It remains unclear from official statements whether the bystander was hit by the suspect's initial gunfire or during the exchange that followed.
No Secret Service officers were injured. President Trump was inside the White House residence at the time and was not affected. He was briefed on the incident by the Secret Service shortly after it occurred.
What the Secret Service said
The Secret Service released a statement on Saturday evening confirming the basic sequence of events. According to that statement, the suspect approached the checkpoint, removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers. Officers returned fire, hitting the suspect. The statement described the shooting as occurring during a preliminary investigation, with more details to follow as the investigation develops.
Several Secret Service officers were evaluated at the scene as a standard precaution following any armed incident. None required hospitalisation. The lockdown placed on the White House grounds was lifted after the situation was contained, and press were allowed back onto the North Lawn.
Suspect approached White House checkpoint at approx 6pm ET on May 23. Between 15 and 30 shots fired total, per CBS News sources. Suspect fatally shot by Secret Service officers. One bystander in critical condition. No Secret Service officers hospitalised. President Trump was in the residence and unaffected. FBI and ATF confirmed assisting in the investigation.
The timeline of what happened
Who was the suspect
The suspect has been identified by law enforcement sources as Nasire Best, 21, from Maryland. CNN reported that Best had previous encounters with the Secret Service going back to at least June 2025. In that earlier incident, he blocked an entry lane at the White House and, after claiming he was God, was detained and committed to the Psychiatric Institute of Washington for mental evaluation.
The following month, in July 2025, the Secret Service arrested Best again after he attempted to enter a White House complex driveway. A federal judge subsequently issued an order requiring him to stay away from the White House grounds. His motive for the Saturday shooting has not been officially confirmed and the investigation remains ongoing.
The third security incident near the White House in a month
What makes Saturday's shooting notable beyond the incident itself is the context. This was the third incidence of gunfire in the vicinity of President Trump in the space of roughly thirty days, according to reporting by CNBC and NPR.
On April 25 2026, shots were fired near the main security screening area for the annual White House Correspondents Dinner at a Washington hotel. Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California was charged with attempting to kill Trump administration officials at that event. He has pleaded not guilty and remains in federal custody.
On May 4 2026, just eleven days before Saturday's incident, Secret Service officers shot a suspect near the Washington Monument after he fired at officers in the same general area. Michael Marx, 45, of Midland Texas, was charged in connection with that shooting. A bystander was also struck in that incident.
Saturday's shooting at the White House checkpoint was therefore the third separate incident within a month. The pattern has drawn significant attention from law enforcement officials and the media, though investigators have not publicly confirmed whether any of the three incidents are connected.
Three separate shooting incidents near the White House in thirty days. Each one investigated independently. Whether they are connected or coincidental remains an open question that investigators have not yet answered publicly.
What happens next
The investigation is being led by the Secret Service with assistance from the FBI and ATF. Because the suspect died from his wounds, the criminal case is closed, but investigators will continue working to determine his motive and whether he had any connections to others.
President Trump responded to the incident on social media, using it to argue for a new, more secure White House facility. He wrote that the incident goes to show how important it is for all future presidents to have what he described as the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington DC.
The bystander who was struck remains in critical condition as of the time of writing. Their identity has not been publicly released. Investigators are still working to determine whether they were hit by the suspect's initial gunfire or by rounds fired during the return fire from Secret Service officers.
What the video showed
The shots were caught on video by several White House correspondents who were in the area at the time, including reporters from ABC News and CBS News. The footage circulated widely on social media within minutes of the incident and showed the chaotic response as officers locked down the perimeter. The White House press area was cleared rapidly as officers secured the scene.
The official account from the Secret Service, corroborated by multiple major news outlets, is straightforward. A man approached a checkpoint, opened fire, and was shot dead by the officers he fired at. Everything beyond that is still being investigated.
A note on this coverage
This post is a factual summary compiled from verified reporting by AP, CNN, Washington Post, CBS News, NPR and CNBC. Nothing in this post is speculation. Where details remain unconfirmed by official sources, that is noted explicitly. For the most current updates as the investigation develops, the primary sources linked at the bottom of this post are the right places to follow.