Gunman kills building manager, wounds four in Washington, D.C. shooting before suicide
A 55-year-old man shot and killed a building manager and injured four others in a Washington, D.C., neighborhood before barricading himself and later taking his own life.
A gunman opened fire in a Washington, D.C., neighborhood on Thursday, killing James Stuart, 46, the building manager, and wounding four other people before barricading himself in his seventh-floor apartment and later dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials said.
Metropolitan Police Interim Chief JW Carroll said the suspect, identified as 55-year-old Matt Lambert, had been involved in a long-standing dispute with his condominium association over mold and moisture in his unit. "We believe it's related to that," Carroll told a press conference.
The attack began just before 8 a.m. EST inside the building's gym, where Lambert shot Stuart with a handgun. He then returned to his apartment, fired from his balcony with a rifle, and shot through his door at officers, setting a fire in the process. Police negotiators spoke with Lambert by phone, but after hearing a gunshot, officers entered the apartment and found him dead from a self-inflicted wound. Three firearms and gasoline were recovered at the scene.
One of the four wounded remains in critical condition, while the other three sustained non-life-threatening injuries. The incident prompted a large police response, with officers in tactical gear and snipers positioned on rooftops, and streets were temporarily closed.
Lambert, a doctor, had sued the condo association in 2025 over alleged water intrusion and mold that he claimed made his unit uninhabitable, seeking about $300,000 in remedial costs. The association denied the claims and filed a countersuit against the building's gym, alleging its commercial dryers caused the moisture problem. The legal dispute was ongoing at the time of the shooting.