D.C. doctor kills building manager after gym shooting

Dr. Matt Lambert, a 55-year-old physician and founder of a healthcare consultancy, opened fire at the VIDA fitness center on a Thursday morning in Washington, D.C., killing the building’s manager and injuring four others before dying in his apartment. The shooting took place in the Logan Circle neighborhood, a short walk from the White House, and ended when police found Lambert dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound inside the Metropole, a seven-story luxury condominium building.

The gunfire began just after 8 a.m. at the gym, which occupies the ground floor of the Metropole. One witness on a treadmill described hearing a loud bang that he initially mistook for a broken exercise ball. Another patron saw a man fall from a chair with blood streaming from his head. As a fire alarm blared, customers fled into the street, with several seeking shelter in a nearby bagel shop. Federal and local law enforcement officials stated that Lambert went to the gym to target a specific individual, leaving others unharmed during that initial exchange. He then exited the building, fired shots from the apartment balcony at four people on the ground, and fired into the hallway before turning the gun on himself.

The victim was James Stuart, the 46-year-old building manager for northwest Washington. Interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll announced at an afternoon briefing that Stuart had been killed. Carroll reported that three other survivors sustained non-life-threatening injuries, while a fourth patient remained in critical condition. Police recovered three weapons from Lambert’s condo: a handgun, a rifle, and a shotgun. Although the doctor did not have firearms registered in D.C., public records showed he held hunting licenses in Alaska, Montana, and Oregon. Carroll noted that authorities believe there was a degree of planning involved in the incident.

Lambert had been embroiled in a protracted legal battle with the Metropole Condo Association and EJF Real Estate Services, the property manager, over alleged water damage and mold in his seventh-floor unit. In a complaint filed in March 2025 and amended in July, Lambert claimed that façade repairs in 2024 caused recurring water intrusion, resulting in visible mold and damage exceeding $300,000. He alleged that the property manager dismissed his concerns, with one representative reportedly describing the mold odor as smelling like cologne. Lambert’s attorney, Joel Braithwaite, identified Stuart as a central witness in the civil case and a key figure in relaying information to the board. The condo association had previously denied the allegations and filed its own complaint in December 2025, blaming the VIDA fitness center’s dryers and exhaust system for the moisture issues.

Lambert documented his frustrations on social media under the handle “OfMiceandMold.” At 8:06 a.m. on the day of the shooting, he posted an engineering report and photos of remediation work, writing about two years of living in luxury followed by six months without a shower, dryer, or HVAC system. Braithwaite said he spoke with Lambert on Tuesday and found him in good spirits, noting that the doctor was in Orlando for a speaking engagement and preparing to start a new job in medical artificial intelligence that Monday. The litigation was ongoing, with a remote mediation session scheduled for March.