Police in the United States capital have confirmed a sixth victim following a deadly shooting linked to a condominium maintenance dispute in Washington, DC, which left one person dead and five others injured before the gunman turned the weapon on himself.
The Metropolitan Police Department identified the deceased victim as James Stuart, 46, the manager of the building where the suspect lived, who died at the scene.
Four other victims—two men and two women, including individuals working at a construction site across the street—were taken to hospital conscious and breathing, reports Al Jazeera.
The newly identified sixth victim, a woman who suffered a non-life-threatening gunshot graze wound, self-treated her injury and was also conscious and breathing.
Authorities identified the gunman as Matt Wade Lambert, 55, a doctor who resided in a seventh-floor penthouse in the building.
According to interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll, the entire shooting spree unfolded in less than five minutes on Thursday morning, starting just before 8am local time.
Police stated that Lambert targeted Stuart inside the ground-floor VIDA Fitness gym in the Logan Circle neighbourhood, approximately one mile north of the White House, while Stuart was carrying out his morning workout.
Lambert then returned to his seventh-floor apartment and opened fire from his patio on people in the street below.
Following the attack, Lambert barricaded himself inside his apartment and engaged in telephone negotiations with police officers.
During the standoff, he fired at least twice through his apartment door at officers positioned outside, though no officers were injured.
Lambert also severed the gas line connected to his fireplace and ignited a fire, which was contained by the building’s automated sprinkler system.
Interim Chief Carroll noted that Lambert spent most of the conversation with negotiators discussing challenges related to building management and the homeowners association.
Negotiators heard a single gunshot during communications, after which Lambert ceased contact; tactical officers subsequently forced entry into the residence and found him dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Investigators recovered a shotgun, a rifle, and a handgun from inside the apartment, all of which had been used in the shooting.
According to court records, Lambert had filed an ongoing lawsuit alleging that exterior work on the building had caused mould, moisture, and water problems, preventing him from enjoying his penthouse since 2024.
Lambert had also shared details of the dispute, including photographs and an engineering report, on an X account under the handle ofMiceandMold.
His lawyer, Joel Braithwaite, told reporters that the condo where Lambert had resided since 2017 looked like “a warzone” and confirmed that Lambert had spent more than $300,000 on the legal battle.
