The White House was put into an immediate lockdown on Saturday evening after an armed man started shooting at a security checkpoint, leading to a deadly gunfight with federal agents just outside the presidential home.
US President Donald Trump, who was inside the building during the daytime attack, confirmed a few hours later that the shooter had a history of violent behaviour and a deep obsession with the historic property.
Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, Donald Trump praised the quick response of the guards on duty. The US President thanked the Secret Service and local police for their fast and professional actions against an armed person who had a violent past and a possible fixation on the country’s most famous building.
The dangerous incident happened just after 18:00 local time near a security box close to the main White House gates. According to reports from the Secret Service, a man walked up to the security post, pulled a handgun out of a bag, and started firing directly at the officers inside.
Secret Service officers reacted instantly, firing back at the gunman and hitting him. An ambulance rushed the man to a nearby hospital, but he died from his injuries shortly after.
Police investigators have identified the dead man as Nasire Best, a 21-year-old from the nearby state of Maryland. Security records indicate that Nasire Best was already well known to Washington security staff, having been arrested twice by federal agents in the summer of 2025. One of those arrests happened after Nasire Best tried to push past security guards to get into the White House grounds, which led to a court order banning him from coming near the area.
While Donald Trump remained unharmed and completely safe throughout the incident, the shooting caused major panic in the surrounding area. Journalists working on the White House lawn reported hearing between 15 and 30 gunshots in a row before security teams ordered them to run inside and take cover in the press rooms. A member of the public walking nearby was also caught in the crossfire and injured, though officials are still checking whether they were hit by the gunman’s bullets or by the police returning fire.
Authorities lifted the emergency lockdown on the White House complex about an hour after they stopped the threat.
This attack is the third time gunfire has happened close to Donald Trump in the last month, raising new worries about security around top government buildings in the United States. In late April, police stopped another attack when a person with a shotgun tried to get into a Washington hotel where Donald Trump was attending a major dinner.
Following this latest security scare at his front gates, Donald Trump used his statement to call for tighter security measures, arguing that these repeated incidents prove it is time to build a brand new, highly fortified presidential building in Washington to keep the nation’s leaders safe.
