One person has died, and another was wounded during a shooting on the White House grounds over the weekend.
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According to multiple media outlets, the suspect, Nasire Best, 21, was killed during an exchange of fire with Secret Service agents at a White House security checkpoint at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Saturday evening.
During the incident, it was estimated that Best fired between 10 and 20 shots before being shot by Secret Service agents. After being rushed to a nearby hospital, Best was pronounced dead.
Another bystander was shot amid the security checkpoint shooting. They were rushed to the hospital as well with serious injuries. No agents were injured.
The White House was placed on lockdown during the incident.
A Secret Service spokesperson confirmed that while President Trump was in the White House during the shooting, he was “not impacted.”
President Trump Praises Secret Service Agents and Law Enforcement Involved in the Shooting
Following the shooting, President Trump took to Truth Social to praise the Secret Service agents and law enforcement involved.
“Thank you to our great Secret Service and Law Enforcement for the swift and professional action taken this evening against a gunman near the White House,” he wrote. “Who had a violent history and possible obsession with our Country’s most cherished structure. The gunman is dead after an exchange of gunfire with Secret Service Agents near the White House gates.”
He then cited the White House Correspondents’ Dinner incident. “This event is one month removed from the White House Correspondent’s Dinner shooting,” he added. “And goes to show how important it is, for all future Presidents, to get, what will be, the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C. The National Security of our Country demands it!”
It was reported that Best had a history of mental health conditions and was known to the Secret Service. A source shared that Best previously attempted to gain entry to the White House last summer. He was arrested during that incident and was barred from the White House shortly after.
Best was later involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital.