A condo owner suing building management over conditions in his home gunned down the building manager in the VIDA Fitness gym in D.C.’s Logan Circle, authorities say.
Dr. Matt Lambert, 55, shot and killed James Stuart, 46, and went on to shoot and wound four others early Thursday, police say. The victims include a woman who was shot in the head. Lambert barricaded himself in his penthouse condo in the same block as the gym, shot at officers and took his life, authorities said.
“We do know that the victim that was killed inside the VIDA was the building manager for that location. So, we do know that there has been an ongoing dispute between the suspect in this case and the building, condo, homeowners association, management regarding maintenance issues – mold and the like – that there was a civil case that he filed against them. So, we believe that it’s related to that,” interim D.C. Chief of Police Jeff Carroll said.
Lambert was deeply upset with management of the building in the 1500 block of 15th Street NW. He bought the 1,200-square-foot penthouse on the seventh floor for $1.095 million in 2016, D.C. tax records show. Online listings show he tried to sell the home in 2021 for $1.275 million.
The attorney representing the Logan Circle shooting suspect in litigation with the homeowners association said he was shocked to learn his client allegedly opened fire in a Vida fitness gym and the surrounding neighborhood.
“I don’t want the story to be that litigation led to this result,” said Joel Braithwaite, Lambert’s attorney. “Litigation is supposed to prevent these results by having people litigate in court and not have that spill into the streets.”
D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto called the killing a tragedy.
“This morning we believe the suspect walked into VIDA to target somebody that he had been in active litigation with over a condo issue, and it’s just so sad and so senseless to kill someone over a dispute that should be worked out reasonably,” she said.
Lambert was a licensed emergency medicine doctor who recently worked as a healthcare consultant.
Court records show Lambert filed a lawsuit last year, alleging that he hadn’t been able to use his penthouse since 2024 because of mold, moisture and water problems. He claimed the problems began after a contractor worked on the building’s exterior.
Lambert had several residences, his attorney said, but the condo was his “prized possession.”
“One of the issues for us was that Matt was treated differently than a lot of other people in the units, and that was the source of some consternation for us … and that’s what resulted in litigation, because to his mind, only his complaints were not heard and addressed by the condo association,” Braithwaite said.
But he said he didn’t know Lambert had guns and wouldn’t have expected his client to have guns. He described Lambert as being in “great spirits” lately.
The litigation was ongoing, with mediation scheduled for next March, according to court filings. Lambert appeared to share his condo woes, including photos and an engineering report, on an X account titled OfMiceandMold.
The account had 200 posts since last October, with the last post at 8 a.m., minutes before the shooting.
His lawsuit claimed the issues with his home cost him over $100,000. He sued for negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and nuisance, and asked for a jury trial.
A Call Your Mother manager Oscar Vázquez describes when he and staff ushered people in from the streets as the active shooting went on.
Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story.
