A doctor who was embroiled in a lengthy dispute with his condominium association after alleging his penthouse suffered mold and water damage costing him hundreds of thousands of dollars is suspected of opening fire Thursday morning at a Washington, D.C., gymnasium.
One person was killed and several others were injured as the rampage unfolded in the trendy Logan Circle neighborhood, just a mile from the White House, drawing a quick law enforcement presence. The suspect, Dr. Matt Lambert, was found in his apartment at Metropole, a seven-story luxury building, dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.
The gunfire broke out shortly after 8 a.m. at the VIDA fitness center, located on the ground floor of the Metropole. A man on a treadmill said that when he heard the first noise, he thought it was a burst exercise ball.
Another witness told NBC News he also heard a loud noise and saw a person sitting in a chair fall with “blood pouring from their head.”
A fire alarm went off and panicked customers rushed out; several fled to a nearby bagel shop to shelter in place.
A federal law enforcement official and a local law enforcement official told NBC News the suspect went to the gym to target a specific person; he left the others unharmed. He then went outside and fired rounds before returning to his unit and barricading himself inside, officials said.
From the balcony of his apartment, the district’s acting police chief said, the gunman struck four people who were on the ground floor. He also fired shots into the hallway through the door before turning the gun on himself, officials said.
Building manager James Stuart, 46, of northwest Washington, D.C., was killed in the shooting, according to Jeffery Carroll, acting chief of the Metropolitan Police Department.
Carroll said three of the survivors of the shooting had “non-life-threatening injuries,” while a fourth was in critical condition.
“We know there is an ongoing dispute between the suspect in this case and the management of the building, the condominium, the homeowners association regarding maintenance issues, mold, etc.,” the acting chief told reporters at an afternoon press briefing. “He filed a civil complaint against them. So we believe it’s related to that.”
The attorney representing Lambert in the legal case involving the condo association said Stuart was a “central fact witness” in the case.
“He was also instrumental in getting the information to the (apartment) board, I believe,” attorney Joel Braithwaite told reporters Thursday evening.
Lawsuit alleges damage to condo
Lambert, 55, had been engaged in litigation with the Metropole Condo Association and EJF Real Estate Services Inc., the building’s property manager.
In a complaint filed in March 2025 in the District of Columbia Superior Court and amended in July, Lambert alleged that water damage to his seventh-floor unit was the result of facade rehabilitation that reached the northeast corner of the complex, where his condo is located, in 2024. Property records show he purchased the unit for more than $1 million in 2016.
From March 2024 to August 2024, Lambert said in the complaint, EJF and its engineering consultant conducted at least three leak testing and investigation procedures for “recurring water intrusion” in its unit. The property manager had the opportunity to identify, disclose and remediate the “continued moisture intrusion,” according to the complaint.
Workers had even cut into the unit’s drywall to determine if water was leaking behind the wall and collecting excess moisture, the suit alleges. Lambert alleged there was visible mold, also detectable by odor, and said he had two independent assessments done. Despite the findings “confirming high humidity conditions, mold growth and water intrusion,” Lambert added, Metropole and EJF “failed to implement appropriate and sufficient corrective measures to address these conditions.”
At a meeting in October 2024, Lambert claimed an EJF representative dismissed his concerns and said the mold odor “smelled like cologne.”
The lack of action led Lambert to hire his own workers to mitigate the mold contamination, he said in his lawsuit. The situation got so bad, he said in his filing, that it caused damages exceeding $300,000 and resulted in the “loss of use and enjoyment of his home.”
Photos included in her complaint showed her condo before the damage: stunning floor-to-ceiling views of the Logan Circle neighborhood, a shrub-lined balcony and a spiral staircase. He also included photos of what he said was black mold found in the walls and the unit left in disarray following remediation work.
His lawsuit alleged gross negligence and breach of fiduciary duty, and Lambert sought compensatory damages and related costs he said he incurred, including for inspection, testing, temporary housing, moving and storage.
The litigation was ongoing and a remote mediation session was scheduled for March, according to court filings.
Lambert’s attorney, Joel Braithwate, told reporters Thursday evening that they spoke Tuesday and that Lambert appeared to be in a good position as his civil case continued.
Representatives for the Metropole condominium association and EJF and their attorneys did not immediately respond to requests for comment Thursday. The defendants denied the allegations in a response to Lambert’s amended complaint.
The condo association also filed a lawsuit in December 2025 naming other parties, including Urban Adventures Companies Inc., which operates the Vida Fitness Center, as the reason for any damage to Lambert’s unit. The complaint alleges that the gym’s dryers and a faulty exhaust system “probably caused” high humidity levels and cites the findings of a consulting engineering firm retained by Metropole.
A lawyer for VIDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Posted on social media
Lambert had regularly documented his feud with his building on social media, posting on X under the account name “OfMiceandMold.” In a post at 8:06 a.m. Thursday, he shared what he said was an engineering report on the damage to his condo, a day after also posting photos of repair work he said was necessary.
“Two years of living in luxury (and the start of 6 months of no shower, no dryer, no HVAC, and no kitchen),” he said on the account.
Braithwate said Lambert, who founded a health care and technology consulting firm called MLEM, was in Orlando, Fla., this week for a speaking engagement and was preparing to start a new job Monday in the medical and artificial intelligence fields.
He said he never knew Lambert was a gun owner and they never discussed guns.
The Metropolitan Police said three weapons were recovered from his apartment: a handgun, a rifle and a shotgun. It’s unclear how the shooter obtained the weapons, but Lambert did not have firearms registered in Washington, D.C., the police chief said.
“We know he used every single one of those firearms” Thursday, Carroll said, adding that authorities believe “there was some level of planning associated” with the shooting rampage.
Public records indicate Lambert held hunting licenses over the years in Alaska, Montana and Oregon.
In one of the complaints about his condo on social media, he mentioned a new resident in April who said he didn’t have hot water in his unit.
He wrote: “If you’re looking for the building manager, I’d check the gym. »
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