DC SHOOTING UPDATE: Suspect on balcony shot victims on ground

Good afternoon. I'm Jeff Carroll, interim chief of police for the Metropolitan Police Department. I want to give an update this afternoon regarding the shooting that occurred this morning in the 1500 block of 15th Street Northwest. Before I begin, I want to give my heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the family and friends and loved ones of those that were injured and killed this morning in this tragic incident. This morning, just before 8 o'clock, 2nd District officers responded to the report of a shooting in the Vita Gym in the 1500 block of 15th Street NW. As officers were responding to the location, we began to receive additional calls for additional shootings in that immediate area. Throughout that, eventually we determined that five people had been shot. All in the area of the 1500 block of 15th Street or 15th and Church Street area. Two adult females and two adult males were transported from the scene to the area hospitals for treatment. One adult male, the individual that was shot in the Vita gym, remained on scene and was pronounced deceased there. Detectives from the MPD's investigative services bureaus have identified the deceased victim as 46-year-old James Stewart of northwest Washington, D.C. As officers were on the scene, it was rapidly unfolding. And through the course of the investigation, they began searching the area for the suspects who had committed these shootings. They determined the suspect resided in the 1500 block of 15th Street Northwest. As they began canvassing the building, they located the suspect on the seventh floor inside of an apartment where he had barricaded himself. As officers arrived on the floor and began to investigate, the suspect did discharge a firearm through the door. On two separate occasions while the officers were outside, none of the officers were hurt during this time frame. Also while on the scene, we were able to make contact with the suspect over the telephone and MPD hostage negotiators began communications with that suspect. We know while we had the area contained the barricade continued inside and while we were talking with the individual We know that he did break the gas line inside of his apartment Fireplace and we know he started a fire there was fire flames that were visible on the outside of the apartment building We also know That there was gasoline and potential other flammable materials that were inside of his apartment The fire sprinkler system in the building did go off, which helped contain the flames, and DC Fire was on scene with us almost within minutes, and they were able to help shut off the gas to the building to also mitigate that threat. While our negotiators were communicating with the suspect, they did hear a single gunshot, at which time the suspect stopped talking to the officers. As a result of this, our tactical teams that were outside the door forced entry into the location, and they located the suspect inside of the apartment suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. We're Once inside, three firearms were located inside the apartment, going a shotgun, a rifle, and a handgun. to get D.C. Fire and EMS did respond to the scene and found that the suspect started was deceased and pronounced him as such at that time. The OCME, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, responded out. in just In this case, the suspect has been identified a few as 55-year-old Matt Wade Lambert of northwest Washington, D.C. minutes. He did reside in that apartment as well. The Metropolitan Police Department would like to thank all of our partners that responded to assist us. I also want to thank the MPD officers that responded to the scene. As soon as this call came out, members from our 2nd District, our Special Operations Division, and officers from across the city responded. I think everyone saw the response that was there. We also had many federal partners, other local partners, Metro Transit Police that came out to provide additional assistance to shut down traffic, clear pedestrians. Officers immediately went inside the building and began looking for that threat. And as a result, we were able to contain this individual to his apartment pretty quickly with that. I also want to thank the community's help in this case. We received a lot of information as well as a connection to the individual from some residents and people in the area there. So we appreciated that as well. With that, I'll open it up to questions. Yes, ma'am. Sure. So at this time we do know that the victim that was killed inside of the Vita 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 it's related to that. Yes sir. So at this point in time, we don't know if there's a relationship between those other four victims and the suspect. We do know from the scene that those four suspects were shot by a suspect from his patio balcony area. So the initial individual was shot inside a gym. We know from some of the evidence on the scene and video that the suspect then left the gym. He then entered back into the building where his apartment was and made his way back up to the seventh floor. His apartment did have access. He had a patio balcony there, and we believe he shot from that location, striking the four other individuals that were shot in this case. They were on the ground level. A lot of the people in the neighborhood, so he goes from the gym up to the 7th floor. How do you track him, find him from gym to 7th floor? Sure. So as you can imagine, when this first came out, it was very challenging because the calls for service were actually came in for the initial shooting at the Vita, but also as the other people were shot. These are different locations that are in the same area, but not the exact same area. As you know, that building is on the corner of 15th and Church Street. So some of the people were actually shot on Church Street. A person was shot kind of in the back. Alley area of the building and then a person on 15th street. So again, all close locations, but not the same exact address. So as officers got there, they began fanning out and then of course starting to go into the building. We wanted to make sure because the gym and the apartment building are actually in the same building. The first floor level is where the gyms at and then the condos are above that. They did. Absolutely. So Yeah, I can. Absolutely. I was on the scene when that happened. As soon as the officers got there, the first thing that we teach our officers, and this has been our protocol for many years, is to go in to try to identify where the shooting comes from. At that point in time, we believed he potentially could still be in the building. We didn't know for sure, but with that being the case, our officers went in not only to the gym, but the other building. portion where the condos are at above that to make sure that if there was, and what they do and how we train our officers is to systematically search those locations to determine is there any other threat, are there any other victims inside of that building. And as they were searching, they identified the seventh floor and that's when they heard a gunshot coming through the door. Right now we do not have that information. The ATF is assisting in this investigation. We do know that a suspect did not have any firearms registered to him here in Washington, D.C. Yes, sir. Yeah, so as you can imagine, this happened in a very short period of time. And as I mentioned, when the calls first came out, we had the initial shooting in the gym. But after that, we start getting calls for other locations that are out there. So I would say that the shooting period happened in a matter of minutes. The exact time frame and timeline, we don't have that yet. Of course, we'll have that as we go through additional videos. You can imagine there's video not only in the gym. But in the apartment building, of course, many of our witnesses that were shot, we've been able to talk to them, but they are hospitalized, so we haven't been able to get as in-depth of an interview as we'd like to. But we know this whole incident probably took place within less than five minutes, that close and quick in time. With that, the entrance to the Vita and the entrance to the apartment building are maybe 20 steps away from each other, so they're very close to each other, and again, the ability to get into the building itself. Again, we don't really know why he set the fire. Obviously, we can only make assumptions at this point. We do know, like I said, there was gasoline inside the apartment. We do know that he had three firearms. We know that he used each of those firearms. So it does appear there was some level of planning associated with this. Can you talk about, like, where did he use it? And then once he gets back inside, it appears he's got these flammable materials. Thank you very much. Thank you. Does it look like you have a sniper's nest that he's firing from? Sometimes these things get planned out where they're setting up ahead of time, or is it just kind of random? Do you have a sense of what that is at all? Yes, so we do know inside the gym he used a handgun. We do believe, based on the evidence on the scene at this time, that he used the rifle from the patio balcony to shoot the other four individuals, and the shotgun was also used at the end of the incident. We also have some information that he may have discharged the shotgun before he actually went down to the gym. But we're still working through those details. Our negotiator spoke to him. They did mention most of the conversation was about the homeowners association and challenges with that. So kind of along the same theme that we've learned as we continue to look into this. So his patio, his apartment carries a seventh floor address, but when you go inside the apartment, it's a two-story apartment. So he actually has a higher level within his own apartment, and there's a patio off of that there. So he has his own private patio. So it would be above the seventh floor. There is a higher level of the building there. I believe it's like mechanical things, but it's basically on the corner of 15th and Church. So he has a view of Church Street. Portion of 15th and the back alley area, and those are the areas where all of our victims were shot that are still surviving. Thank you for your time. Thank you for subscribing. We'll take two more. Channel 7. Sure, so right now it remains the same. We believe one of our victims is in critical condition. The other appeared to have non-life-threatening injuries, and of course we have the one person that was deceased on the scene. We don't have any indication about how long he was planning this. It was inside containers inside of the apartment. We do know, and there's some video on social media that you've probably seen, of the flames coming out of the side of the building. We do suspect there's probably some level of accelerant. We don't know if it was gasoline or something else. There were some other flammable liquids that were found inside of there. So we do believe there probably was some level of pouring there. But again, to finalize, that will be part of the overall investigation. Well, it appears he poured it on the inside. When you go inside his apartment, the sheetrock was actually ripped off the walls and the large portions of it, and it was down to the studs. So it was the studs, and then it was the actual backside of the exterior of the building inside of there. So, you know, as he poured things there and lit it, it kind of came out through the building itself. What was the series of events where the sprinklers started? I'm just wondering how that happened with police coming up to the seventh floor and if any of those neighbors were in danger. Sure. So obviously with the building being set on fire and what we've seen, we know that neighbors and people in the area were in danger. We have four people that were shot, one person that was killed. We know that he attempted to set the building on fire. So I would definitely say there was a threat to everyone in the building and in the area there. But with that being said, we know that... Shortly after he went back into the building, the sprinkler system did go off. So, again, the exact timeline of how many seconds between this and that, we don't have that. But we know that as our officers were entering the building, the fire alarm was already starting to go off. And we know that the sprinkler was activated very short in time within there. So everything happened fairly quickly, I'd say. That's why I would say, you know, it kind of seems like this is a long period of time. But when you break it down, this whole thing probably unfolded in less than five minutes. Would be my estimate. Again, as we go through more and get more video, we'll have a more stronger timeline of that. Very last question. We've seen a lot of things in this city over the years. People were remembering about the Navy Yard The size and the scope of this response was overwhelming. We saw MPD, D.C. Fire and EMS, Marshal Service, ATF, U.S. Park Police. Can you talk to folks about the size of this response this morning? And why this was necessary and needed? Sure. So, again, this is necessary and needed. You know, when anything happens in Washington, D.C., there are a variety of law enforcement agencies that are here in the city, and we do support one another. With the situation when the call came out, it was an active shooter. There were people that were being reported shot. You know, it was very quick, but one person, two people getting shot, continuing on. So with that, with any time there's an active shooter, regardless of the law enforcement agency, The expectation is folks will go there to try to stop the loss of life, and that's what we saw in this case. We had federal law enforcement. We had local law enforcement from Metro Transit. We had Park Police. We had a variety of law enforcement agencies there. Same as what we saw at the Navy Yard and that situation there. We saw the active shooter situation. We saw a very large response. One thing I can say is the response was coordinated. Of course, when you get on any scene like this, there's going to be a level of confusion, but we were quickly able to establish instant command there on the scene to get our partners, including DC Fire, integrated in there to get the victims inside ambulances to get them, begin treatment on the scene to get them to those hospitals while still simultaneously going through the building and searching for this person. It's a very complex situation. I have to say the officers that responded to the scene. both from the second district, we pulled an officer from across the city. Our special operations division responded with the emergency response team as it relates to the barricade there. Everyone did an outstanding job today responding in, doing what they're trained to do, going inside, trying to stop the threat that's there. I appreciate all the support from all the law enforcement officers, from the fire department, the community that came out. Like I said, we did receive information from community members related that was helpful in the situation and the folks that were affected there. I mean, I can only imagine being in that area and hearing the gunshots or being inside a gym. That's something that we don't want anyone to have to ever experience with that. But the response was to try to stop this as fast as possible. And I think the team did a good job for the circumstances that we were dealt with.