An innocent person caught in gunfire during a deadly confrontation at a White House security checkpoint continues to recover in serious but stable condition as of Sunday.
According to the Secret Service, the unidentified bystander sustained a gunshot injury that officials described as non-life-threatening. Officials have not disclosed the circumstances surrounding how the person was wounded.
Law enforcement agencies have provided limited information regarding the Saturday evening incident. The District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department reported that the gunman, 21-year-old Nasire Best from Dundalk, Maryland, began firing rounds at a White House security checkpoint before Secret Service personnel responded with deadly force. Best was transported to a medical facility where he was declared deceased.
President Donald Trump was inside the White House when the gunfire erupted.
This marks the third shooting incident involving the president within the last month, following an armed individual who attacked the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in April carrying firearms and blades, and another shooting where Secret Service agents wounded a gunman who fired at them near the Washington Monument earlier this month.
Through a Truth Social message, Trump characterized the Saturday shooter as having a “possible obsession with our Country’s most cherished structure.” He also leveraged the incident to advocate for the ballroom construction project he wants built where the White House’s former East Wing once stood, stating the shooting “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.” Trump is requesting $1 billion from Congress for White House campus security enhancements, including the proposed ballroom.
Court documents from the District of Columbia reveal Best had previously encountered law enforcement at the White House. He was taken into custody last July for trying to breach White House property at a separate checkpoint. He ignored officers’ orders to halt, declared himself to be Jesus Christ and expressed a desire to be detained.
Best competed in track and field events at Dundalk High School, earning his diploma in 2023.
A woman claiming to be Best’s mother spoke with The Washington Post, saying she discovered the shooting through social media and struggled to accept the news. She defended her son, stating he “was never violent, regardless of what people are posting.”
