White House Gunman Had Prior Encounters With Secret Service, Court Records Revea
The gunman who opened fire near a White House security checkpoint on Saturday evening before being shot and killed by law enforcement had a well-documented history of unauthorized entry attempts at the complex, according to newly uncovered court documents. The suspect, identified by Washington D.C.โs Metropolitan Police Department as 21-year-old Nasire Best of Dundalk, Maryland, died at a local hospital following a brief, violent exchange of gunfire with federal agents. District of Columbia Superior Court records show that Best was already highly familiar to the U.S. Secret Service due to a string of bizarre, escalating incidents tracking back to the previous summer.
According to a July 2025 court affidavit, federal authorities had previously flagged Best for “walking around the White House complex inquiring how to gain access at various entry points.” Court filings reveal he was first involuntarily committed to a mental institution on June 26, 2025, after using his body to obstruct a vehicle entry lane leading into the secure complex. Less than a month later, on July 10, 2025, Best bypassed multiple prominent warning signs and deliberately walked straight into a heavily restricted area. When confronted by Uniformed Division officers, he reportedly “claimed he was Jesus Christ” and explicitly stated that he wanted to be arrested. Following that encounter, he was formally charged with unlawful entry onto federally controlled property, and a D.C. judge issued a strict pre-trial “stay-away order” legally barring him from approaching the perimeter.
However, judicial records indicate that the legal safeguards ultimately failed to keep Best away from the executive mansion. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest in August 2025 after he failed to appear for a mandatory status hearing, leaving him a wanted individual in the district. On Saturday at approximately 6:00 p.m., Best returned to the complex at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, pulled a revolver from a messenger bag, and began firing directly at a security checkpoint. Secret Service agents stationed near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building returned fire immediately, killing the gunman. A nearby bystander was caught in the crossfire and remains in serious but stable condition; authorities have not yet confirmed whether that individual was struck by Best’s rounds or law enforcement return fire.
President Donald Trump, who had altered his weekend plans to remain inside the White House, was entirely unharmed in the incident. Taking to social media on Sunday, the president praised the “swift and professional action” of the Secret Service, while noting that the suspect possessed a clear “violent history” and an apparent obsession with the property. The incident marks a deeply troubling trend for federal law enforcement, standing as the third separate shooting incident occurring in close proximity to the president within a single month. The FBIโs Washington Field Office is actively assisting local police and the Secret Service to determine how Best obtained the firearm despite his documented mental health history and the outstanding active warrant for his arrest.
