A video capturing NBC reporter Julie Tsirkin‘s live reaction to the Saturday White House shooting incident is going viral across social media. Tsirkin was recording a news segment in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, when she heard multiple gunshots nearby.
NBC’s Julie Tsirkin goes viral after White House shooting reaction
A viral clip shows NBC’s Julie Tsirkin standing on the White House grounds as the gunshots went off, leaving her stunned. Shocked, she asks the cameraman, “What is that?” and he replies, “It sounds like fireworks.” Moments later, Tsirkin runs to the press briefing room while an armed Secret Service agent stands guard outside.
Tsirkin made an Instagram post detailing the incident. “My cameraman, John, and I were getting ready to tape something on Iran for Nightly News when what sounded like 20-30 loud booms rang out very close by,” she shared in the caption. She added, “Twice in one month I found myself face to face with a USSS agent yelling at me to get to safety, guns drawn. I find myself thankful, again, that I could run to safety when so many run to danger.”
She further explained, “A male suspect approached the USSS checkpoint shortly after 6pm this evening when he pulled a gun from a bag and began firing indiscriminately at the USSS checkpoint, according to USSS.”
Tsirkin also recalled the incident while speaking with NBC News. “I was outside of these doors on the North Lawn getting ready to tape something for your show, when myself and my cameraman, John, we heard what sounded like 20 to 30 shots,” the reporter shared. She continued, “I ended up running after that happened. I saw a Secret Service agent come out of the security booth, guns drawn, telling the few of us who are out there to ‘run inside the press briefing room.’”
According to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), authorities have identified the gunman as 21-year-old Nasire Best.
Originally reported by Namrata Ghosh on Mandatory.
