Students near deadly WH shooting recall terrifying moments: ‘Scared for my life’

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.