A gunman was shot dead by United States Secret Service agents after opening fire near the White House on Saturday evening, triggering panic around the heavily guarded presidential complex in Washington, DC.
Authorities said the incident occurred shortly after 6pm local time when the suspect approached the White House security perimeter and suddenly pulled out a firearm from his bag before opening fire.
Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, said agents immediately responded to the attack.
“Secret Service Police returned fire striking the suspect who was transported to an area hospital where he was pronounced deceased. During the shooting, one bystander was also struck by gunfire,” he said.
President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time of the shooting but was not harmed.
The US president later praised security operatives for their response to the incident.
“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, who had a violent history and possible obsession with our Country’s most cherished structure,” Trump wrote on Truth Social early Sunday.
Several American media outlets identified the suspect as 21-year-old Nasire Best from Maryland. Reports said he had a history of mental health concerns and had previously interacted with Secret Service personnel.
The shooting caused chaos around the White House area as heavily armed security agents and police officers sealed off nearby streets while National Guard troops restricted movement around the scene.
Eyewitnesses described hearing repeated gunshots moments before people began fleeing the area.
“We heard probably 20 to 25 what sounded like fireworks, but they’re gunshots, and then everyone started running,” Canadian tourist Reid Adrian told AFP.
Journalists stationed on the White House North Lawn during the incident were reportedly ordered to take cover inside the press briefing room.
ABC News correspondent Selina Wang, who was filming a social media video when the shooting began, captured the sound of the gunfire before diving for safety.
“It sounded like dozens of gunshots,” she wrote on X.
The latest incident adds to a growing list of security threats involving Trump.
In July 2024, the president survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where a gunman killed a supporter and grazed Trump’s ear with a bullet.
Another armed suspect was later arrested near Trump at a golf course in West Palm Beach, while an additional security breach occurred in April when a man armed with a weapon stormed a checkpoint at a hotel event attended by the president.
Following Saturday’s shooting, House Republicans reacted on social media, saying: “Thank God President Trump is safe.”
“Endless gratitude to the Secret Service for their immediate, heroic response. Political violence has to stop.”
Trump has repeatedly cited security concerns as part of the reason for expanding security infrastructure around the White House, including the ongoing construction of a new ballroom project expected to include a fortified underground facility.