WASHINGTON — A shooting at a fitness center in the Logan Circle neighborhood killed one person and wounded four others Thursday morning before the suspected gunman died by suicide inside an apartment above the facility, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Police identified the suspect as Matt Lambert, 55, an emergency medicine physician who most recently worked as a health care consultant. Authorities said the violence began inside the VIDA gym and later moved to a residential unit on the building’s seventh floor, where Lambert barricaded himself while officers responded.
The person killed inside the gym was identified as James Stuart, the building manager. One wounded person was in critical condition after suffering a gunshot wound to the head, while the other three injured people sustained wounds described as not life-threatening.
Police link violence to civil dispute
Interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said investigators were examining a long-running disagreement between Lambert and the people responsible for managing the condominium building. The dispute involved alleged maintenance problems, including mold and moisture, and had led to a civil lawsuit filed by Lambert in 2025.
“We do know that the victim that was killed inside the VIDA was the building manager for that location,” Carroll said.
Carroll said authorities believed the legal conflict was connected to the attack, though the investigation remained active. The police chief’s comments established a possible link between the shooting and the building dispute but did not provide a full explanation of what prompted the violence Thursday morning.
Lambert had purchased a roughly 1,200-square-foot penthouse in the building for $1.095 million in 2016, according to information cited in the report. Five years later, the home was listed for $1.275 million. The lawsuit filed in 2025 centered on Lambert’s claims that he had begun finding mold, water intrusion and moisture problems in the property.
| Key detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Location | VIDA gym and apartment building, Logan Circle |
| Time of shooting | Thursday morning, Nov. 12, 2026 |
| Victims | One killed and four wounded |
| Suspect | Matt Lambert, 55 |
| End of standoff | Lambert died by suicide in a seventh-floor apartment |
Police response brought a neighborhood to a standstill
The gunfire prompted a large police response in one of the District’s busy residential and commercial areas. Officers moved through the building as Lambert fled from the gym to the apartment, and police teams took positions while attempting to contain him. The confrontation ended after Lambert fatally shot himself.
The area around the gym includes residences and businesses, and the shooting forced people nearby to confront an unfolding emergency in a densely populated part of the city. The incident also raised concerns for people who live, work or exercise in the building where the attack occurred.
Police continued gathering evidence and reconstructing the sequence of events. Investigators were working to determine how the shooting began, how Lambert reached the apartment and what actions preceded the attack. Authorities had not released additional details about the weapon or a broader motive beyond the building-related legal dispute described by Carroll.
Lambert’s medical background
Lambert was a licensed emergency medicine doctor. He studied chemistry at Marshall University, later attended the university’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine and completed medical school in 1997, according to the report. He finished an emergency medicine residency at West Virginia University in 2000.
Marshall University issued a statement expressing sadness over the shooting and extending sympathy to the victims, their families and others affected by the violence. The statement did not provide further information about Lambert or his time at the university.
The shooting left one person dead, four others injured and a neighborhood shaken. As detectives continued their work, the civil case involving Lambert’s condominium remained a central part of the inquiry into what led to the attack. The immediate focus for authorities was the investigation, while the surviving victims and their families faced the consequences of the violence.
- One person was killed inside the VIDA gym.
- Four people were wounded, including one victim in critical condition.
- Police said the suspected shooter died by suicide after barricading himself in an apartment above the gym.
