The White House shooting suspect allegedly claimed he was Jesus Christ in a police run-in months before he was killed in a skirmish with the Secret Service.
CNN identified the suspected shooter as 21-year-old Nasire Best, reporting that he had a series of documented mental health issues. Best was allegedly once arrested while claiming “he was Jesus Christ” and was involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital on another occasion for obstructing a vehicle entry near the White House in July 2025.
“I’m actually the son of God,” he allegedly wrote in one social media post.
The outlet reported that Best previously threatened the life of President Donald Trump and allegedly had multiple encounters with police near the White House in the past.
An affidavit from 2025 indicated that Best was “known to the Secret Service” for “walking around the White House complex inquiring how to gain access at various entry points,” per CNN.
Us Weekly reached out to the Secret Service for comment.
Gunfire erupted near a Secret Service checkpoint outside the White House at around 6 p.m. ET on Saturday, with a bystander being struck in the crossfire and hospitalized in critical condition. No Secret Service agents were injured in the crossfire.
“Shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday, an individual in the area of 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue pulled a weapon from his bag and began firing,” Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi told Us on Saturday. “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.”
Emergency and police vehicles are seen near the White House after a shooting. Getty Images/Alex WROBLEWSKI / AFP
His statement went on, “No injuries were sustained by officers. The President was in the White House during the incident, however no protectees or operations were impacted. The incident remains under investigation and additional information will be released as it becomes available.”
Several reporters were on the premises of the White House when shots broke out. They were rushed from the Pebble Beach media location into the White House briefing room and instructed to shelter in place for around 40 minutes.
“I was in the middle of taping on my iPhone for a social video from the White House North Lawn when we heard the shots,” ABC News White House correspondent Selina Wang tweeted at the time. “It sounded like dozens of gunshots. We were told to sprint to the press briefing room where we are holding now.”
This latest Washington D.C. shooting incident occurred less than one month after gunshots rang out in the lobby of the Washington Hilton at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, as President Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Vice President JD Vance were in attendance. The Trumps and other officials were evacuated from the Hilton as the violence unfolded.
A Secret Service agent was struck in his protective vest and hospitalized. Shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen was arrested and later charged with attempting to assassinate the president, interstate transportation of weapons and discharge of a firearm during a violent crime, to which he pleaded not guilty earlier this month.
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