Witnesses who were dining near the White House on Saturday evening described terrifying moments after gunfire erupted near a security checkpoint in Washington, D.C.

“I was scared for my life. I thought I was going to die. I had accepted my death,” said witness Shoshana Greenberg.

Greenberg was visiting the nation’s capital for Memorial Day weekend on a school field trip with 17 classmates and staff members when Secret Service officials said a gunman opened fire on officers shortly after 6 p.m. near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

As shots rang out, people inside a nearby restaurant rushed for cover.

“My friends started hiding under the tables at the restaurant,” Greenberg said. “I ran directly to the back of the kitchen and held the door shut with my hand while dialing 911 with my other hand.”

Greenberg said the fear inside the restaurant was overwhelming.

“The door did not have a lock. I was holding it shut with my hand,” she said. “I was sobbing, shaking in the kitchen. I did not want to die. I was being held in my friend’s arms. I was being held later in the restaurant by an immigrant’s arms who did not speak English. We were all very scared and it did not matter that we didn’t know each other. We were helping each other out.”

Six senior law enforcement officials briefed on the matter identified the suspect as 21-year-old Nasire Best, who was shot and later died at a hospital. A bystander was also shot and injured.

Greenberg and her classmates said they were less than 200 feet from the shooting and about a block from White House grounds.

Classmate Meghan Rossol recorded video inside the restaurant as customers and staff hid in the kitchen.

“I am still in complete shock that it happened,” Rossol said. “Part of me is shocked and part of me is in denial that I was so close to having my life taken.”

Rossol said the situation escalated in seconds.

“We had just gone from talking and joking at the dinner table to crying and having anxiety in the back of a kitchen while shots are fired,” she said.

Greenberg, the daughter of NBC10 Jersey Shore reporter Ted Greenberg, said she wanted to speak publicly about the experience because of the broader impact of gun violence.

“I wanted to tell people that this is not okay,” Greenberg said. “There are many innocent people who were scared for their lives. There’s an innocent person who lost his life. This is not okay. We need to stop violence and gun violence in this country.”

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC Philadelphia. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC Philadelphia journalist edited the article for publication.

WASHINGTON (7News) — Drivers should expect road closures, parking restrictions, and possible delays on Monday as the Freedom 250 National Memorial Day Parade takes place in downtown D.C.

The parade is set for May 25 and will bring several street closures around Constitution Avenue, the National Mall, and nearby downtown corridors.

Police officials said all listed closures and times are subject to change based on conditions.

Emergency no-parking begins early Monday

Several streets will be posted as Emergency No Parking from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m., including portions of:

• 4th, 6th, 7th, 9th, 10th, 12th, 14th and 15th streets
• Constitution Avenue from Pennsylvania Avenue to 23rd Street NW
• Madison Drive from 3rd Street to 14th Street NW
• Jefferson Drive from 3rd Street to 14th Street SW
• Independence Avenue from 4th Street to 12th Street SW

Additional emergency no-parking restrictions will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. on parts of Virginia Avenue and 18th, 19th, and 20th streets NW.

Vehicles parked in restricted areas may be ticketed or towed.

SEE ALSO | Memorial Day 2026: What’s open and closed across the DMV

Streets closed from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The following areas will be closed to vehicle traffic from 4 a.m. to 1 p.m.:

• 4th Street from Pennsylvania Avenue NW to Independence Avenue SW
• 6th Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to Constitution Avenue NW
• 7th Street from Pennsylvania Avenue NW to Independence Avenue SW
• 9th and 10th streets from Pennsylvania Avenue to Constitution Avenue NW
• 12th Street from Pennsylvania Avenue to Madison Drive NW
• 14th Street from Pennsylvania Avenue NW to Independence Avenue SW
• 12th Street Tunnel/Expressway
• Constitution Avenue from Pennsylvania Avenue to 15th Street NW
• Madison Drive from 3rd Street to 14th Street NW
• Jefferson Drive from 3rd Street to 14th Street SW

More closures begin at 8 a.m.

From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., additional closures will include:

• Constitution Avenue from 15th Street to 23rd Street NW
• Inbound I-395 from the 14th Street Bridge
• Inbound I-395 HOV from the 14th Street Bridge
• 17th Street from New York Avenue NW to Independence Avenue SW
• 18th and 19th streets from E Street to Constitution Avenue NW
• Virginia Avenue NW from 24th Street to Constitution Avenue NW

Traffic from inbound I-395 will be directed eastbound onto the I-395 Southwest Freeway.

The Metropolitan Police Department and D.C. Department of Transportation are urging drivers to use caution and consider different routes because of increased pedestrian traffic and expected delays.

Traffic updates will be posted by MPD’s traffic account on X.

WASHINGTON — A person who approached a White House security checkpoint and began firing at officers has died, according to federal officials.

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.”

Officers returned fire and hit the suspect, who was transported to an area hospital, where he later died, according to the Secret Service.

A bystander was struck, but a law enforcement official said it wasn’t clear whether that person was struck by the suspect’s initial bullets or those fired subsequently by officers.

Secret Service said none of its officers were injured, and that President Donald Trump — who was at the White House at the time — was not “impacted.”

This is a breaking news update. AP’s earlier story follows below.

The U.S. Secret Service shot a person near the White House on Saturday, and a bystander also was shot, a law enforcement official said.

Both individuals were said to be in critical condition, according to the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the investigation.

Journalists working at the White House on Saturday reported hearing a series of gunshots and were told to seek shelter inside the press briefing room.

On X, the Secret Service said it was “aware of reports of shots fired near 17th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW” — one block from the White House — and was “working to corroborate the information with personnel on the ground.” It said it will have an update shortly.

In a social media post, FBI Director Kash Patel said officers were responding to shots fired and said he would “update the public as we’re able.”

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

Evidence of the shooting was visible on a sidewalk just outside the White House complex, where yellow crime scene tape snaked across the pavement and officers with the U.S. Secret Service placed dozens of orange evidence markers on the ground. Medical material, including what appeared to be purple surgical gloves and kits typically used by emergency medical personnel, were also seen.

In a post shared on X, ABC News senior White House correspondent Selina Wang shared dramatic video of the moment she said she heard what “sounded like dozens of gunshots” and ducked for cover. Writing that she had been performing a routine task that White House reporters do daily — filming themselves on a cellphone for a social media post — Wang’s video shows her speaking for a few seconds about Trump’s statements earlier Saturday about a potential Iran deal.

As the sounds of gunfire are heard in the background, Wang’s eyes grow wider, and she ducks down in the media tent, which is among those situated in a line along the White House driveway where broadcasters film their reports. On X, Wang’s video had been shared thousands of times as of Saturday evening, and viewed at least 3 million times.

The Metropolitan Police Department said on its X account that the Secret Service was working the scene and cautioned people to avoid the area. The scene is near where a gunman ambushed two members of the West Virginia National Guard last November.

U.S. Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, died from her wounds. Andrew Wolfe, then 24, was critically wounded. Rahmanullah Lakanwal has been charged in that incident.

The gunfire Saturday comes nearly a month after what law enforcement authorities said was an attempted assassination of the president on April 25 as he attended the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner at a Washington hotel. Cole Tomas Allen, of Torrance, Calif., recently pleaded not guilty to charges that he attempted to kill Trump and remains in federal custody.

Following that scare, Secret Service officers shot a suspect they said had fired at officers near the Washington Monument, also near the White House. Michael Marx, 45, of Midland, Texas, was charged in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in connection with the May 4 shooting. A teenage bystander was wounded in that incident.