On Thursday morning around 8 a.m., a shooting erupted in Washington’s Logan Circle neighborhood, a mile north of the White House, leaving one dead and four injured, according to WPXI. Interim D.C. Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said the gunman entered the Vida Fitness gym and shot James Stuart, the manager of his condominium building, before returning to his seventh‑floor apartment and firing at four additional residents from his balcony.
Police identified the shooter as Dr. Matt Lambert, an emergency‑room physician who had owned the condo since purchasing it in September 2016 for almost $1.1 million, the Associated Press reported. Lambert had been involved in a long‑running dispute with the building’s management over alleged mold and water damage, a conflict that reportedly cost him more than $300,000 in legal fees, his attorney Joel Braithwaite told CNN.
The entire incident lasted less than five minutes, Carroll said, and police heard the gunshots from nearby areas. After the attacks, officers spoke with Lambert through his apartment door for over an hour. He attempted to set the residence on fire and fired a shotgun at police before turning the weapon on himself, where he was pronounced dead at the scene, WPXI noted.
Two men and two women were wounded in the attack. One victim was listed in critical condition while the others sustained non‑life‑threatening injuries, the Washington Post reported. A fifth injured person was later added to the count, WRC reported on Friday.
EJF Real Estate Services, the firm that employed Stuart for 13 years, described his death as a “senseless act of violence.” “Jimmy was more than a colleague; he was part of the fabric of this company,” EJF President Scott Burka said, according to the Post.
Lambert’s attorney noted that the shooting occurred on the anniversary of Lambert’s mother’s burial, a detail that may have contributed to the tragedy, Braithwaite told CNN. He also said Lambert had been in “great spirits” in the days before the incident and was set to begin a new, highly compensated job on Monday.
Authorities continue to investigate the motive behind the shooting, and the D.C. Police Department has urged residents to remain vigilant while the investigation proceeds.
What’s next: The D.C. Police Department has not announced a specific timeline for the investigation’s findings, but officials say they will keep the public informed as more information becomes available.
Sources: wpxi.com
