D.C. Condo Dispute Preceded Fatal Gym Shooting

A gunman identified as Matt Lambert opened fire Thursday morning at Vida Fitness, a gym on the ground floor of the Metropole condominium building in Washington, D.C. Police said Lambert later shot and killed himself in his apartment. Three firearms were recovered there, and law enforcement sources described the attack as targeted.

An X account associated with Lambert had posted repeated complaints about alleged mold, water intrusion, rodents and other problems in his condo. He blamed building contractors and property management for failing to resolve the issues. In a post, he called an engineering report on the building’s condition “my manifesto.”

Lambert also invoked the phrase “delay, deny, defend,” which he attributed to the condominium association’s handling of his complaints. The phrase had been written on bullets used by Luigi Mangione in the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson. In an April post, Lambert wrote that anyone seeking the building manager should look in the gym.

Lambert, 52, ran a healthcare consultancy and bought his penthouse unit in 2016 for $1,095,000. He sued the condominium association, claiming more than $290,000 in damages as of May. The association and its property manager denied responsibility, arguing that third parties caused the damage and that Lambert had not limited his losses.

A gym patron said she had to leave past the scene of the killing. A resident who lived below Lambert said he had become increasingly angry at association meetings and invited neighbors into his apartment to see the damage. The resident said his girlfriend barricaded herself during the shooting and police response; water from firefighting had flooded their apartment.