The mother of the man shot dead by Secret Service officers near the White House said she was shocked after learning about the incident online, and insisted her son “was never violent.”A woman identified as the mother of 21-year-old Nasir Best told The Washington Post that she found out about the fatal shooting through social media posts before authorities contacted her.“He was never violent, no matter what people posted,” she said.Best was killed Saturday evening after opening fire near a White House security checkpoint in Washington, D.C. A bystander was also injured during the shootout and remains in serious but stable condition, according to US Secret Service officials.The shooting occurred shortly after 6 p.m. near the intersection of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest, near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building next to the White House complex.Police said Best fired at Secret Service officers stationed near the checkpoint. The officers returned fire, fatally wounding him. He was later declared dead in hospital.US President Donald Trump was inside the White House at the time, but was not injured. No Secret Service officers were injured.
Best had previous encounters with law enforcement near the White House and had a documented history of mental health problems. He was arrested in July 2025 after allegedly trying to enter the White House near another security checkpoint. During that incident, he reportedly ignored police orders, claimed to be “Jesus Christ,” and asked officers to arrest him. He later spent some time in a psychiatric hospital.The shooting caused panic around the White House complex, with reporters and television crews seen running for cover from the gunfire in videos that went viral.CBS journalist Aaron Navarro described the confusion that occurred moments after the shooting.He told the BBC: “As soon as we heard that, we leaned down and I started to see other reporters running, and soon I heard the Secret Service officers saying: ‘Get in, get in.’ABC correspondent Selina Wang also shared footage showing reporters taking shelter on the White House grounds.Saturday’s incident represents the third armed security scare near the president in the past month. Previous incidents included an armed man disrupting the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and the shooting of another suspect by Secret Service agents near the Washington Monument.After the shooting, Trump praised the officers involved in the response.“Thank you to the Secret Service and our great law enforcement for the quick and professional action taken this evening against an armed man near the White House,” he wrote on social media.
