DC Gunman Targeted Condo Manager Amid Mold Dispute, New Details Reveal

WASHINGTON, DC — A doctor who killed his condominium building manager and wounded four other people in Washington, D.C.'s Logan Circle neighborhood had repeatedly complained about maintenance problems in his penthouse, including in social media posts that mentioned the victim's daily gym routine, according to new reporting.

Matt Lambert, 55, fatally shot James Stuart, 46, inside VIDA Fitness on Thursday morning before shooting four others from his seventh-floor condominium patio, police said. Lambert later killed himself during a standoff with officers.

Security footage showed Lambert shooting Stuart in the back at close range, according to VIDA Fitness owner David von Storch, who described the video to The Washington Post.

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Stuart, a manager at the Metropole condominium building, regularly exercised at the gym around the same time each morning, von Storch said.

The newspaper also identified social media posts apparently written by Lambert months before the shooting that referenced Stuart's visits to VIDA Fitness.

Two posts from April and May mentioned seeing the building manager at the gym. One suggested that anyone looking for Stuart should check there.

Lawsuit Sought At Least $300,000

Lambert, a board-certified emergency physician who later worked as a medical consultant, purchased his one-bedroom penthouse at the Metropole for nearly $1.1 million in 2016, according to property records reviewed by The Washington Post.

He sued the condominium association and property management company in 2025, alleging they failed to address persistent mold, moisture and water damage in his unit.

Lambert claimed the problems began after exterior construction work in 2024 allowed water to enter his apartment.

According to court records, Lambert alleged that Stuart dismissed his concerns during an inspection of the unit, describing the mold odor as smelling like cologne. Lambert sought at least $300,000 in damages.

The condominium association and EJF Real Estate Services denied responsibility for the damage.

In subsequent court filings, the association argued that an exhaust system operated by VIDA Fitness and its landlord might have contributed to the mold. Both denied those allegations, and von Storch disputed the claim in an interview with The Post.

The lawsuit remained unresolved at the time of the shooting.

Gunman Reportedly Confessed To Building Manager

Charelle Ferguson, another manager at the Metropole, told The Washington Post that Lambert admitted shooting five people during a phone conversation shortly after the attack.

Ferguson said she called Lambert around 9 a.m. Thursday while checking on residents following the gunfire.

Lambert complained about the mold and water damage in his condominium and suggested that drastic action was necessary to get people's attention, Ferguson recalled.

He then told her he had shot five people, including one of her co-workers, she said.

Ferguson kept him on the phone until police approached her, at which point she handed the phone to an officer.

An X account believed to belong to Lambert, called OfMiceandMold, contained dozens of posts criticizing building conditions, including mold, mice and air conditioning problems.

A post published around the time of Thursday's shooting described an engineering report as the account owner's "manifesto." The account's ownership has not been independently confirmed.

Shooting Unfolded In Less Than 5 Minutes

The violence began shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday inside VIDA Fitness in the 1500 block of 15th Street NW.

Interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said Lambert shot Stuart inside the gym before returning to his condominium and firing at four other people from his patio.

One surviving victim was in critical condition Thursday afternoon.

"This whole incident took place in less than five minutes," Carroll said.

Witnesses described gym members scrambling to escape after hearing gunshots and seeing Stuart collapse.

James Spellman, who was exercising at the gym, estimated about 50 people were inside when the shooting began.

Anthony Mirones, another gym member, said people rushed toward the exits after a fire alarm sounded.

Police said Lambert was armed with three guns.

After the shootings, he barricaded himself inside his seventh-floor apartment and fired through the door at responding officers.

Negotiators spoke with Lambert for more than an hour before hearing a gunshot. Officers forced their way inside and found him dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Carroll said Lambert also cut a natural gas line and started a fire inside the condominium. The building's sprinkler system activated and contained the flames.

Investigation Continues

Police believe the shooting was connected to Lambert's longstanding dispute with condominium management.

The attack prompted school lockdowns, road closures and a shelter-in-place order around Logan Circle. Those emergency restrictions were later lifted.

The four surviving victims had not been publicly identified in the earlier police reports.

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to contact the Metropolitan Police Department at 202-727-9099.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.