Washington gunman identified after deadly shooting near White House

A gunman who killed his building manager and wounded four pedestrians in Washington, D.C., on Thursday morning has been identified as Dr. Matt Wade Lambert, 55. The shooting occurred about a mile from the White House amid a legal dispute involving Lambert, his condominium association and building management over upkeep and mold.

Lambert was found dead inside his apartment after a standoff with police, Metropolitan Police Department Interim Chief Jeffery W. Carroll said. The four people injured—two men and two women—were shot at multiple locations. One remains in critical condition.

The person killed was building manager James Stewart, 46, of Northwest Washington. He was shot inside the building’s gym and pronounced dead at the scene.

Police received a report of gunfire shortly before 8 a.m. at the Vita Fitness gym in Logan Circle. Officials said Lambert fired a handgun there, striking Stewart, then went to his two-story apartment on the seventh floor of the same building.

From a raised private patio overlooking 15th Street, Church Street and a rear alley, Lambert fired a rifle toward the street, hitting four pedestrians, police said.

Officers approaching the seventh floor came under fire twice through Lambert’s apartment door. No officers were hurt.

During the ensuing standoff, Carroll said, Lambert deliberately cut a natural gas line serving a fireplace. He also had gasoline and other flammable liquids in the apartment and started a fire, with flames visible from outside the building. The sprinkler system activated, while D.C. Fire and EMS crews entered to shut off the main gas line and avert an explosion.

Police negotiators spoke with Lambert by phone. During the conversation, officers heard a single gunshot, and contact ended. Tactical officers then entered the apartment and found Lambert dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Carroll said investigators believe the attack was connected to Lambert’s ongoing conflict with the condo association and building management over maintenance and mold. Lambert had previously filed a civil lawsuit related to the dispute. Negotiators said he focused almost entirely on his complaints about the association during the standoff.

District tax records show Lambert bought the condominium in September 2016 for $1,095,000.

Investigators recovered a handgun, rifle and shotgun in the apartment. All three had been fired. Carroll said Lambert had no firearms registered in Washington, D.C. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is helping trace the weapons.

The reports of an active shooter and a barricaded suspect brought a large response to the neighborhood. Police special operations and emergency response teams joined D.C. Fire and EMS, the ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Park Police and Metro Transit Police.

Hector, a D.C. resident who witnessed part of the response, said he was walking from his office near 15th and P streets toward a Starbucks when he heard what sounded like two or three gunshots. He then saw people in gym clothes running east toward 14th Street, followed by others.

Once inside the coffee shop, officers told people to stay indoors and keep the doors locked, Hector said. He remained there with staff and customers for about three hours. He later learned that a woman who had seen the gunman was sheltering in the kitchen; she appeared shaken, he said.

Hector, who has worked in the neighborhood for nearly eight years, said he had never encountered anything similar there. He described it as generally a safe area and said an incident like this felt unusual.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, who appeared at a news conference with Carroll, called the shooting a senseless act of gun violence. She said the city was grieving for the person killed and acknowledged that many residents had been frightened by the news. Bowser also thanked people for following police instructions and said the investigation would continue.

Vida Fitness said its Logan Circle location would remain closed until further notice. Company president Aaron Moore told members the gym was temporarily shut following the shooting and that updates would be provided when it was safe and appropriate to do so.