Update, 11:20 a.m.: The suspect, who barricaded himself inside his apartment building, is dead. The news came shortly after the Metropolitan Police Department’s press conference ended. It appears he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the matter. The incident appears to have been sparked by a homeowners association dispute.
Interim Police Chief Jeffery W. Carroll told reporters this morning that the suspect was “contained” at the time and suffering from a gunshot wound that appeared to be self-inflicted.
While law enforcement conducted a sweep of the building, they heard gunshots on the seventh floor, according to Carroll. He said the suspect fired through the door of his apartment at officers at least twice. In responding to a question, he also confirmed that a fire was likely set in the building: The alarm went off and the sprinkler system was set off. It’s unclear who started the fire, but it was out by the time the press conference started, which took place about two hours after the first shots were fired inside the Logan Circle Vida Fitness. Carroll was joined by Mayor Muriel Bowser, and John Donnelly, chief of DC Fire and EMS.
One person was killed inside the gym, Carroll confirmed. Of the four surviving victims, he said one is in critical condition; the other three have non-life-threatening injuries.
Bowser took the mic after Carroll, telling reporters: “The question was asked, is this a typical response? It’s not typical to have an active shooter that guns down people in this city and so all of law enforcement—our federal partners, our local MPD, our Fire and EMS, our HSEMA, our 911—have all responded in a way that’s professional and got this situation under control.”
To Bowser’s point, police responded to the scene within 30 seconds of the shooting. According to Carroll, the suspect was a White male who lived in the building and that there was a “conflict between” the suspect and home owners association of building. He also was believed to be a member at Vida.
Bowser confirmed that the White House has been briefed and when asked about praising the president for bringing down crime in D.C., she said, “I praise MPD for bringing down crime in this city.”
“We’re devastated,” Bowser said. “Someone was killed this morning in a senseless act of gun violence.”
MPD has cleared the barricade and declared the scene safe, but say significant road closures remain in place and ask that people continue to avoid the area. A Reunification Center has been set up at Stead Park Recreation Center (at 1625 P St. NW). MDP says impacted residents from this incident should check in at the center.
10:25 a.m.: The Metropolitan Police Department has issued a shelter-in-place for the immediate vicinity of the 1500 block of 15th Street NW following a shooting in and outside the Logan Circle Vida Fitness that left multiple people injured. The schools in the vicinity—Adams Middle School, Bancroft Elementary, Garnet-Patterson Academy, Thompson Elementary, Ross Elementary, Cardozo Education Campus, Brent Elementary, Marie Reed Elementary, John Lewis Elementary, Benjamin Banneker High, and Garrison Elementary—are also on lockdown.
A source within federal law enforcement tells NBC4 that one person has died, and four others have been taken to the hospital in varying conditions.
According to a federal law enforcement source, a shooter is currently barricaded on a “high floor” of a residential apartment building above the gym at 1517 15th St. NW, reports NBC4. The latest reports say police have identified the shooter, but that information has not yet been shared with media.
The shooting began around 8 a.m. this morning. One witness, a Logan Circle resident who lives in the building above the gym, says a person was shot “point blank” in Vida Fitness. (That victim, according to most recent reports, is said to be a staff member at Vida.) Another witness confirms that someone was shot inside the neighborhood gym. She tells NBC4 that she was on the treadmill when she heard gun shots.
Commotion erupted inside the gym as everyone evacuated. According to the woman, there was no way of getting out of the gym without going around the victim. In the evacuation process, people rushed into Call Your Mother and hid in the bathroom until they could get out safely.
A woman who took shelter in CYM, according to Oscar Vasquez, a manager at the bagel shop, said she recognized the shooter from her building and that he was carrying a “long gun.”
Law enforcement from numerous agencies, including the FBI, ATF Washington, DC Fire, Metro Transit Police, special police, Homeland Security, and the National Guard, are currently on the scene. A photo posted on Washingtonian Probs’ Instagram account shows more than a dozen armed officers on the roof and upper balconies of an apartment building. According to the Washington Post, video from social media shows smoke coming from the upper floors of the building. It’s been reported that shots are being fired inside the building.
MPD is staging a press conference shortly and DC Public Schools are communicating with parents of the kids currently at the 11 schools on alert status. NBC4 says nobody can enter or exit the building, but normal activities are continuing inside the classrooms.
