Nasire Best, 21, was identified as the suspect by a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because they were not authorised to discuss the investigation. The Secret Service said in a preliminary statement on X that he "pulled a weapon from his bag" in the area of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue shortly after 6pm ET and began firing.

According to District of Columbia court records, Best was arrested in July 2025 after he attempted to enter a different White House checkpoint without authorisation, didn't heed officers' commands to stop, "claimed he was Jesus Christ" and said he wanted to be arrested.

An initial hearing was held, and a "Pretrial Stay Away Order" was issued. A bench warrant was issued in August after a notice of "noncompliance" against Best, who did not show up for a subsequent hearing.

Social media reportedly belonging to Best included a post that appeared to threaten violence against Mr Trump and another in which he wrote "I'm actually the son of God."

Approximately 20 shots were heard just after 6 p.m. Eastern Time, appearing to originate from the side of the White House complex that contains the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, multiple local and national reporters who were at the White House at the time said.

U.S. Secret Service personnel immediately responded by ushering them inside.

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Julie Menin, New York City council speaker, said she is "troubled by the latest shooting that occurred tonight near the White House."

"I’m hoping the injured bystander makes a full recovery, and I’m grateful for the actions of the Secret Service in stopping the shooter from inflicting more harm."

• A suspect opened fire at a White House security checkpoint on Saturday shortly after 6 p.m. ET, near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, the Secret Service said
• Secret Service officers returned fire, hitting the suspect, who was taken to hospital where he later died. He has been identified as 21-year-old Nasire Best of Washington D.C.
• A bystander was also struck, though it is unclear whether they were hit by the suspect's bullets or those fired by officers
• Around 20 shots were heard by journalists working at the White House, who were immediately ushered inside the press briefing room for shelter
• Trump was at the White House at the time but was not "impacted," the Secret Service said. None of its officers were injured

President Donald Trump remains inside the executive mansion and continues to work following the shooting incident outside the complex, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said Saturday.

The shooting scene is within walking distance of where a gunman ambushed two members of the West Virginia National Guard last November.

U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from the wounds she suffered in that shooting. Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, then 24, was critically wounded. Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been charged in that incident.

The gunfire Saturday came nearly a month after what law enforcement authorities said was an attempted assassination of the president as he attended the annual White House Correspondents' Association Dinner at a Washington hotel on April 25. Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, California, recently pleaded not guilty to charges that he attempted to kill Trump. Allen is accused of running through a security checkpoint inside the hotel and firing a shotgun at a Secret Service officer.

Following that scare, Secret Service officers shot a suspect they said had fired at officers near the Washington Monument, several blocks from the White House. Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in connection with the 4 May shooting. A teenage bystander was wounded in that incident.

The gunman, who has been named by law enforcement sources to multiple outlets as 21-year-old Nasire Best, had been living in Washington D.C. for around 18-months, according to CBS News.

In July 2025 he was arrested by the Secret Service for trying to gain entry to the White House, a source told the network. He was reportedly sent to a psychiatric ward for mental health issues.

An ABC news reporter recorded the moment shots were heard around the White House.

"I was in the middle of taping on my iPhone for a social video from the White House North Lawn when we heard the shots," Selina Wang wrote on X,

"It sounded like dozens of gunshots. We were told to sprint to the press briefing room where we are holding now," she said in a tweet posted on Saturday evening.

Donald Trump has thanked the Secret Service and law enforcement for their "swift and professional action" following yesterday's shooting near the White House.

"The gunman is dead after an exchange of gunfire with Secret Service Agents near the White House gates," the president wrote on Truth Social, describing the suspect as someone who "had a violent history and possible obsession with our Country's most cherished structure."

Mr Trump said the incident, coming one month after the White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting, showed the need for "the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C. The National Security of our Country demands it!"