Secret Service agents have killed a gunman after he opened fire on one The White House security checkpoint as journalists scrambled to safety.
The gunman ‘opened fire’ at an intersection near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building around 6pm local time (23:00 GMT) on Saturday.
Officers stationed there shot and hit the gunman, who was then taken to hospital. He was later pronounced dead.
A bystander was also injured by the shooting, but their condition is unknown. No Secret Service agents were injured in the attack.
The suspect has been named as Nasire Best, 21, who was known to both the Secret Service and Metropolitan Police Department and who Donald Trump described as having a ‘violent history and possible obsession with our country’s most beloved fabric’.
“A preliminary investigation indicates that as the individual approached, he removed a gun from his bag and began firing at the posted officers,” the Secret Service said in a statement.
A source told CBS Best had previously tried to enter the White House in July 2025 but was arrested. He then spent time in a mental institution.
The president was in the White House during the attack, but “no security or operations were affected.”
Reporters at the White House were forced to run for cover after hearing gunshots and rushed into a briefing room.
Some were filming and gunshots could be heard on camera.
ABC’s senior White House correspondent, Selina Wang, can be seen taking cover as gunfire erupts across the North Lawn.
Speaking to X last night, she said: “We were told to sprint into the press conference room we’re holding now.”
Reporters were kept in the briefing room for about 30 minutes and could see Secret Service officers and later ambulances arriving at the scene.
The president thanked officers for their ‘swift and professional action’ following the incident, which comes just a month after a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
He said in a post for “Truth Social”: “The gunman has died after an exchange of weapons with Secret Service agents near the gates of the White House.
“This event is one month removed from the shooting of the White House Correspondent’s Dinner (sic) and shows how important it is, for all future presidents, to get, what will be, the most secure and safe space of its kind ever built in Washington, DC
“The National Security of our country demands this!”
An investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
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