VIDA Fitness Shooting Kills Manager and Wounds Four, Police Say

A 55-year-old emergency physician killed a building manager and wounded four others in a shooting at a Logan Circle gym on Thursday before taking his own life.

The Metropolitan Police Department received reports of an active shooter at the VIDA Fitness gym in the 1500 block of 15th Street NW before 8 a.m. Interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said officers arrived on the scene within 30 seconds of the first call. Inside the gym, the gunman fatally shot 46-year-old James Stuart, who worked as the manager of the building.

Anthony Mirones, who was on a treadmill when the shooting began, said he saw a body on the floor with blood nearby. James Spellman, another gym member, said he heard a loud bang and initially thought a machine had malfunctioned.

“Within seconds there was a man who fell to the ground, and a pool of blood came out,” Spellman said. “One gym member rushed to help him. He was instantly dead. He had been shot in the neck.”

Following the attack inside the gym, the shooter, identified as Dr. Matt Wade Lambert, fled to his seventh-floor apartment in the same building. Chief Carroll said Lambert opened fire from his balcony, wounding four people on the sidewalk below. One victim was transported in critical condition, and three others sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Police reported that Lambert had barricaded himself inside his unit. Negotiators talked with the suspect for more than an hour, mostly about issues with his apartment. Officers heard a single gunshot during this engagement. Inside the unit, police found a shotgun, a handgun, and a rifle.

Authorities and court records link the violence to an ongoing conflict between Lambert and the Metropole Condominium Association. Lambert, a board-certified emergency physician who bought his penthouse in 2016 for $1,095,000, had been involved in a civil lawsuit regarding moisture and black mold.

In November 2024, Lambert said he paid $12,000 out of his own pocket to strip his apartment down to the metal studs and subflooring to uncover the mold. A source described the apartment as resembling a “war zone” due to the conditions.

Lambert had expressed a grudge against James Stuart, the building manager, and told a reporter, “If you want to see the building manager, he comes in the gym about 8 o’clock.”

Beyond his medical career, Lambert was the author of the 2016 self-published book Unrest Assured and in August 2024 released a fictional story about a post-apocalyptic society in Portland. From July 2019 to February 2026, he worked for the Annapolis-based healthcare technology company Curation Health.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser characterized the event as a “senseless act of gun violence” and confirmed the White House had been briefed. Residents were ordered to shelter in place until the order was lifted at about 11:30 a.m. Ward 2 Council Member Brooke Pinto thanked the first responders and SWAT teams for their efforts.

Oscar Vazquez, a manager at the nearby Call Your Mother Deli, said he heard the fire alarm at the apartment building and saw people running into his shop, falling into patio chairs. Authorities investigate the incident, following protocols for both the immediate response and long-term victim assistance. Lambert bought his penthouse in 2016 for $1,095,000.

More on this story: Washington Gym Shooting Leaves One Dead And Four Wounded Near White House · Matt Wade Lambert Killed Gym Manager, Police Say