Police have named the gunman in Thursday’s shooting near Logan Circle in Washington, DC, as Dr Matt Wade Lambert, 55, after five people were shot in and around a busy gym about a mile north of the White House. One man was killed and four others were wounded before Lambert barricaded himself in his apartment and was found dead. The Logan Circle shooting triggered a massive emergency response and a shelter-in-place order across the neighbourhood.
The shooting began at about 7:59 a.m. on Thursday, November 12, at 15th and P Streets Northwest. Police said the gunman opened fire inside the VIDA Fitness gym in the 1500 block of 15th Street NW, which held about 50 people at the time, and also fired in a parking garage elevator before retreating to his seventh-floor apartment in the Metropole building above the gym. The man killed was James Stuart, 46, a DC resident and the manager of the building, who was shot inside the gym and pronounced dead at the scene. Four other victims were taken to hospital, one critically injured and three with injuries not considered life-threatening.
Barricade Ends in Self-Inflicted Shot
Officers negotiated with Lambert by phone after he barricaded himself in his apartment. Interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said officers heard a gunshot, forced their way in and found the man dead from a self-inflicted wound. Investigators found three firearms in the apartment, a handgun, a rifle and a shotgun, and said each weapon had been fired. Carroll said Lambert did not have any firearms registered in Washington, DC, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is helping determine where the weapons came from. DC Councilmember Brooke Pinto confirmed the gunman was dead.
Police said Lambert appeared to have a dispute with his building’s homeowners association, and investigators are probing a continuing legal dispute with the condominium association over building maintenance and mould. Investigators believe Lambert deliberately targeted Stuart, the building’s property manager. Police issued a shelter-in-place order and placed six nearby schools on alert as the FBI, ATF, Secret Service, Homeland Security and the National Guard responded. Mayor Muriel Bowser appeared at a press conference and praised the police response. Residents gathered in Logan Circle on Thursday evening for a vigil for Stuart, with about 50 people leaving messages for gym employees, local businesses and emergency responders. The investigation remains open, and police urged anyone with information to contact investigators. Read our earlier report on the North Hollywood crash case here: https://reportrig.com/north-hollywood-crash-driver-held-on-dui-and-murder-counts/
