The suspect in Saturday's shooting outside the White House was arrested last year after trying to gain access to the White House, and he may have had mental health issues, according to law enforcement sources and court documents.
Sources identified the 21-year-old alleged gunman as Nasire Best of Dundalk, Maryland, and documents obtained by CBS News show Best previously blocked a White House entry lane in June 2025, telling agents he was Jesus Christ and wanted to be arrested. Best was sent for a mental evaluation and again tried to access the White House area in July 2025.
Best was then arrested by Secret Service agents and charged with unlawfully entering a federally controlled property in Washington. He was ordered by a judge to stay away, according to court documents.
D.C. Superior Court records show Best was released after an arraignment on the unlawful entry charge, but he failed to appear for an Aug. 7, 2025, status hearing, prompting a no-bond, D.C.-only bench warrant that authorizes law enforcement to arrest him.
Best reappeared outside the White House near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW on Saturday, pulling a revolver from a messenger bag and began firing at a U.S. Secret Service checkpoint, law enforcement sources told CBS News.
A Secret Service agent rides a bike past a window damaged by multiple rapid-fire gunshots in yesterday's shooting near the White House, on May 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
Roberto Schmidt / Getty Images
Multiple uniformed division officers, including at least one stationed in a cruiser outside the White House security checkpoint, returned fire and killed the gunman, law enforcement sources said.
A bystander was wounded in the shooting, but it was unclear whether the gunfire came from the suspect or from responding officers. The victim had a successful surgery Saturday night and remains in serious but stable condition, according to law enforcement sources.
Law enforcement officials said the shooting took place near the Starbucks that is located on Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Broken glass and bullet holes can be seen on Sunday at the White House History Shop.
The Metropolitan Police Department will lead the use-of-force investigation, the standard process in D.C. when Secret Service personnel open fire. That means detectives with MPD's Internal Affairs Bureau Force Investigation Team are expected to handle the officer-involved-shooting inquiry, including processing the scene, collecting ballistic and video evidence, interviewing witnesses and involved personnel and determining the sequence of gunfire and injuries.
A U.S. Secret Service officer cordons off an area after a bullet fragment was found on Pennsylvania Avenue the morning after a man opened fire near the White House in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, May 24, 2026.
Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg via Getty Images
The U.S. Attorney's Office for D.C. also reviews all police-involved fatalities to determine whether evidence supports federal civil-rights or D.C. criminal charges.
The investigation is separate from the internal Secret Service review led by the agency's Office of Professional Responsibility and from the criminal investigation into the suspect's alleged conduct.
Sara Cook, Aaron Navarro, Pat Milton, Jennifer Jacobs and Faris Tanyos contributed to this report.
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