The suspect in a shooting near the White House was killed in an exchange of fire with Secret Service agents on Saturday evening, officials have confirmed.
BBC’s US media partner CBS has named the suspect as Nasire Best, a 21-year-old man who was known to the Secret Service and had a documented history of mental health conditions.
In a post to Truth Social, Donald Trump thanked the Secret Service for their “swift and professional action” in apprehending the gunman, who he said had a “violent history and possible obsession with our Country’s most cherished structure”.
The shooting comes just one month after a gunman opened fire at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
The incident on Saturday remains under investigation, and road closures around the White House will likely stay in place overnight.
Shortly before 18:00 (23:00 GMT) on Saturday, a man pulled a gun from his bag and “began firing” outside the White House at 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW near the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
Secret Service officers returned fire, striking the gunman. He was then taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A bystander was also wounded in the shooting, but the Secret Service did not further details on their condition. No officers were injured in the attack.
