White House Shooter Identified As Nasire Best: What We Know About The Man Who Thought He Was ‘Jesus’

The gunman who opened fire at the Secret Service checkpoint outside the White House Saturday evening (US local time) has been identified as 21-year-old Maryland man, Nasire Best, according to report by the New York Post.Best, who believed he was Jesus Christ, fired nearly 30 gunshots near the White House complex at the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW, near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, authorities say.

The motive for the attack has not been officially confirmed, but Best was believed to be a mentally disturbed person who was already known to the US Secret Service for repeatedly lingering around security checkpoints near the White House and for allegedly violating an earlier court order not to be in the area.

Best had been involuntarily committed on June 26, 2025, after allegedly obstructing vehicular traffic near 15th Street and E Street NW in Washington.

Again arrested, on July 10, 2025, he was accused of unlawful entry for allegedly walking through an exit turnstile lane in order to bypass a restricted White House pedestrian control point.

Court records from the incident state Best made strange comments while being detained by DC police and Secret Service personnel, including claiming he was “Jesus Christ” and saying he “wanted to get arrested.”

The authorities have not indicated whether the latest shooting incident was politically motivated. The incident was the latest in a series of security scares involving gunfire near US President Donald Trump in the past weeks and leaders across the political spectrum condemned political violence.

There were reports of multiple gunshots heard outside the White House and a huge security response as police officers and federal agents swarmed to the area around the presidential complex. The incident occurred as Donald Trump was reportedly inside the White House.

The agency said in a statement to US media that the gunman was shot dead.

A bystander also was shot during the exchange of fire, but the agency didn’t provide the condition of the victim. “Secret Service police officers returned fire, striking the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital where he later died,” the statement said after the gunman opened fire on agents at a security checkpoint near the White House.

The US Secret Service said in a statement late Saturday that a preliminary investigation found the person approached a checkpoint shortly after 6 pm ET and “removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers.”

“On Saturday around 6:00 p.m., a person in the vicinity of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue took a firearm from his bag and fired. The suspect was struck by return fire from Secret Service Police and transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. A bystander was also shot in the shooting. “The President was at the White House at the time of the incident,” the US Secret Service said.