Bystander Hit in Shooting at White House in Stable Condition

A bystander wounded during a shooting near the White House remained in serious yet stable condition on Sunday, with Secret Service Director Sean Curran expressing hope for the individual’s full recovery.

The Secret Service said a gunman pulled a weapon from his bag and began firing near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue on Saturday, prompting agents to return fire. The suspect was struck and later pronounced dead at the hospital.

No officers were injured, according to the Secret Service, but one bystander was hit during the exchange of gunfire.

The Secret Service said the bystander suffered a gunshot wound, though it remains unclear how the person was struck. Authorities have not disclosed the bystander’s identity.

“Our officers continue to operate heroically in a heightened political threat environment. We are grateful no officers were injured and appreciate the strong support from our federal and local partners.

“Our thoughts are also with the innocent bystander who was wounded during this incident. The Secret Service is hopeful he will make a full recovery,” Curran said in a statement posted on X.

President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time of the shooting.

Police have identified the suspect as 21-year-old Nasire Best. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the suspect “had a violent history and possible obsession with our country’s most cherished structure.”

Best had a previous arrest in July 2025 for attempting to enter White House grounds, according to court documents.

The shooting occurred less than a month after the April 25 incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner at the Washington Hilton, when a suspected gunman breached a security checkpoint near the ballroom and shot a Secret Service agent. The incident prompted the evacuation of Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and many members of the Trump administration to safety.

Authorities arrested the suspect, identified as Cole Allen, at the scene. He was charged with four federal charges, including attempted assassination of the president, assaulting an officer of the United States with a deadly weapon, and two firearms-related charges.

Trump said the latest incident near the White House “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.,” referring to the White House ballroom currently under construction.

Construction on the project, which calls for building a 90,000-square-foot ballroom, began in September 2025. To build it, it was necessary to demolish the East Wing, constructed in 1902 during Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency and expanded four decades later during Franklin Roosevelt’s presidency. Trump said it was too small and in poor shape.

Trump has said the construction of the ballroom would be funded by $400 million in private donations. Senate Republicans have sought $1 billion in taxpayer funding to the Secret Service for security upgrades to the ballroom and ​other structures being built beneath it.

The Senate’s parliamentarian, Elizabeth MacDonough, on May 16 rejected a bid by Republicans to pass $1 billion in funding for the project. MacDonough ruled that the security funding provision falls under chamber rules that require 60 votes to ​pass most legislation. Republicans hold a 53–47 majority in the Senate.

The parliamentarian ​interprets Senate rules, including whether legislative provisions are permitted. Republican senators could revise the legislation to try to gain the parliamentarian’s approval.

Matthew Vadum, Joseph Lord, Reuters, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.