One Dead, Four Wounded in Shooting at Logan Circle Gym in Washington, D.C.
Five people were shot Thursday morning at a VIDA Fitness gym near 15th and P streets NW in Washington, D.C. Police said the gunman barricaded himself in a seventh-floor apartment in the same building, fired at officers, and later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Five people were shot, one fatally, on Thursday morning in Washington, D.C., near a gym in the Logan Circle neighborhood, police said. The gunman then barricaded himself in a seventh-floor apartment in the same building, fired at officers, and later died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Police were called to the area of 15th and P streets Northwest just before 8 a.m. ET, about a mile north of the White House. The five victims were found at different spots on the block, including inside the VIDA Fitness gym, at a construction site and in the lobby of an apartment building. Of the four wounded, one was in critical condition and three had injuries that were not life-threatening, police said. All four were taken to hospitals.
The suspect barricaded himself inside an apartment on the seventh floor, interim Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery W. Carroll said at a news conference. While barricaded, Carroll said, the suspect fired at officers on at least two occasions. Officers negotiated with him for close to an hour before they heard a single gunshot, and the suspect was later found dead inside the apartment, Carroll said.
Police had not released the suspect’s name as of Thursday afternoon. Carroll said the man lived in the building and that investigators believe he had a dispute with the building’s homeowners association. The name of the person killed was also not released. Police said it was not clear whether the gunman knew any of the people who were shot, and a motive was still under investigation.
Schools locked down, streets closed
Fourteen public schools in the Logan Circle area were placed on alert status after the shooting, meaning no one could go in or out of the campuses while classes continued. The alert was lifted at 11:15 a.m. ET, the school district said. Police set up a reunification center at the Stead Park Recreation Center at 1625 P St. NW and asked residents affected by the shooting to check in there.
Mayor Muriel Bowser called the shooting a “senseless act of gun violence” and said the city was devastated. Janeese Lewis George, the mayor-elect, said in a statement that the shooting was horrifying and thanked officers and first responders who rushed to the scene. She said police had confirmed it was a lone suspect and there was no longer a threat.
VIDA Fitness said its Logan Circle location would stay closed until further notice. The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the National Guard assisted at the scene, and officers began to clear the area late Thursday morning. Police asked anyone with information to call 202-727-9099.
Reporting based on coverage by USA TODAY and The Associated Press.
