Doctor waits an hour in gym before killing building manager in DC
Matt Lambert, a physician in a dispute with his condo association, shot six people in Logan Circle before dying by suicide.
By Pedro Tanaka ·
A dispute over building conditions escalated into a mass shooting in Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning. Matt Lambert, a 46-year-old medical doctor, killed the building manager inside a local gym before firing from his apartment balcony at residents and workers. The incident left one man dead and five others wounded.
Police said Lambert had been in the VIDA Fitness gym on 15th Street NW for nearly an hour before the victim arrived. He waited behind James Stuart, a 46-year-old building manager, and opened fire without a prior conversation. After killing Stuart, Lambert ran to the seventh floor and fired sniper-style from the private patio of his $1 million penthouse.
D.C. Interim Chief of Police Jeffery Carroll stated that Lambert was suing the homeowners association over the condition of his unit. "We do believe that he plotted this," Carroll said. "We know that he had been in the gym for almost an hour before the victim walked in. So, we do believe he was waiting for him." Carroll noted that there was no indication of an exchange of gunfire when officers arrived, as Lambert shot through his condo door but officers did not return fire.
Five people were wounded in the subsequent shooting. One woman, shot in the head, remains hospitalized in critical condition. Two other victims are stable and hospitalized, while two others were treated and released. Carroll identified two of the surviving victims as construction workers who were on Church Street when Lambert fired from above. One woman was grazed in the arm, though it remains unclear if that occurred inside the gym or on the street.
David von Storch, the CEO of VIDA Fitness, described Stuart as a 15-year member of the gym who was well-known to the community. "Our sense of safety has been violated, and it's been tough," Storch said. Lambert died at the scene after taking his own life.
Former U.S. Capitol Police Chief Kim C. Dine, speaking on negotiation tactics, said negotiators aim to deescalate through active listening. He explained that officers make second-to-second decisions, such as forced entry, based on the level of risk and coordination among tactical teams on the scene.
