A Washington DC shooting at a gym about a mile north of the White House left one person dead and four others wounded on Thursday morning, after a doctor embroiled in a legal dispute with his condominium building opened fire, police said. The gunman later died in his apartment after a stand-off with officers.
The attack began shortly before 8 a.m. on 12 November at a VIDA Fitness gym on the 1500 block of 15th Street NW in the Logan Circle neighbourhood, according to the Washington Blade and CBS News.
What happened in the Washington DC shooting
Police said the suspect walked into the gym and targeted a specific person, the manager of the residential building above it, Newsweek and NBC Washington reported. Interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll confirmed that the man killed was the building manager.
Four other people were shot. One was in critical condition, while the other three had injuries that were not considered life-threatening, Newsweek reported, citing Carroll. Some of the shots were fired outside the gym. DC Council member Brooke Pinto said the first shooting inside appeared targeted, but the later gunfire outside did not.
The gunman then barricaded himself in a seventh-floor apartment in the same building and fired at officers through the door. He spoke with police negotiators by phone before officers heard a gunshot. When they entered, they found he had died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police statements reported by Newsweek and the Washington Blade. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted local police at the scene.
A shelter-in-place order for the surrounding area was lifted shortly after 11:30 a.m. “This lone gunman has been contained,” Mayor Muriel Bowser said, as reported by the Washington Blade.
Who was the suspect?
Federal law enforcement officials identified the gunman as Dr Matt Lambert, NBC News reported. NBC Washington and CNN said he was 55. NBC Washington described him as a licensed emergency medicine physician who had more recently worked as a healthcare consultant. Police said he lived in the building and was a member of the gym.
A long-running dispute over mould
Police say the shooting appears to be linked to a dispute between Lambert and the building’s management. Chief Carroll said there had been an ongoing conflict over maintenance problems, including mould, and that investigators believe the attack was related to it.
According to court records reviewed by NBC Washington, Lambert bought a seventh-floor penthouse in the building in 2016. Last year he sued the condominium management and homeowners association, claiming that mould, moisture and water damage had made the flat unusable since 2024 and had cost him more than $100,000. His claims included negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, and mediation had been scheduled for next March. Pinto told reporters the gunman had been in active litigation with the person he targeted.
What happens next
Investigators are continuing to examine the gunman’s movements and the background to the dispute. The names of the victims have not been formally released by police, and the condition of the critically injured victim has not been updated. Police said there was no further threat to the public.
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Sources: Washington Blade, CBS News, NBC News, NBC Washington, Newsweek, CNN.
