Shots Fired Near White House During Trump Presence

Just a month after an alleged assassination attempt on US President Donald Trump during the high profile annual White House Correspondents Association Dinner at Washington Hotel, another similar incident has triggered panic within the security personnel led by US Secret Service after multiple gunshots were fired by a shooter.

On Saturday evening, when Trump was inside the White House, a person approached the security checkpoint and started firing at officers. The incident took place at around 6 PM near Pennsylvania Avenue and the suspect was reportedly neutralized by the Secret Service Agents.

The suspect is identified as Nasire Best, aged 21 years. He was declared dead in the hospital due to injuries sustained during the counterattack by the security agents. The motive of the attack remains unclear, sources revealed that Nasire is a mentally disturbed youth who was well known to the White House Security for wandering around the building.

None of the officers of the Secret Service was injured, but a bystander was struck by a bullet during the firing. As soon as the firing took place, officials have declared a lockdown of the White House until normalcy is restored.

The U.S. Secret Service said in a statement late Saturday that, according to a preliminary investigation, the person approached a checkpoint shortly after 6 p.m. ET, “removed a weapon from his bag and began firing at posted officers.

Several members of press who were doing their regular coverage of White House news were terrified with the firing. They quickly took shelter in a safe place while the exchange of gunshots took place.