VIDA Fitness CEO speaks out after deadly DC gym shooting

Our coverage continues into yesterday's mass shooting in Logan Circle. The shooting happening inside of a popular gym before the gunman fired from his apartment balcony. One person was killed, five others hurt. The gunman then took his own life. And Melanie Alway, she's back out there live this morning with the latest on the victims and the gunman. Mel, what do we know at this hour? Good morning. It's been a little more than 24 hours and an update this morning from D.C. police that now six people were shot down here on the street. Actually, six people total. We did have the victim inside the Vita Fitness as well. But you can see here people have been leaving notes. There's a little packet here where they're asking folks to leave a letter and really just some heartbreaking memories here. You deserved better. Rest in peace. Love each other over here. I'm left asking why. Goodbye, James. We just did an interview with the founder and CEO of Vita Fitness. It's really hard for them to figure out how they're going to go forward from here. Here's part of our conversation. Well, I think we're all heartbroken. We're heartbroken for the victims, heartbroken again for the staff and the members who were trapped in closets and scared and traumatized by what was going on in the club, heartbroken for the community. Our sense of safety has been violated, and it's been tough. What can you tell us about James? I was just getting some text messages from some members who were sharing. James was a 15-year member of the club, loved by a lot of people, Thank you, Michael. which makes the tragedy all the more heartbreaking. So Vita Fitness tells us that they are working to pull together some resources, counseling resources for their staff members and for their members as well. There's also an Episcopal church that's right across the street from where this violence broke out yesterday. Thank you. They told us this morning that they are now opening their doors so that they will be able to just let themselves be a place of meditation and decompression because, you know, there was so much chaos here yesterday. Now is really when, for many people, it is starting to sink in. And so that's just one example of how the community is coming together as they try to move forward. Investigators still going in and out of the building this morning, gathering evidence in this case. Send it back to you. All right, Melanie, thank you so much. And I know we'll stay on top of it and bring you any and all updates, both on the air and online. Your time now is 9.33. It's time now to chat weather. And Taylor, man, it's cold, at least to my liking. It is, it's chilly. It's almost like a shock because it was relatively mild this entire week. Now we're kind of flipping a switch and going straight to fall with below average temperatures. So anyway, going to be a cool morning and then kind of a cool afternoon as well. We're currently in the 40s. So biggest takeaway is that we're not really going to warm up. hardly at all throughout the daytime. So I would dress for how it currently feels. Taking a live look at radar again. We did have some showers early surrounding the area. That's mainly due to that storm system that is pulling away from the New Jersey coastline. For now, that center actually moved over the area yesterday. Brought us a couple of showers, but it kept the severe weather away from us for the daytime yesterday. Now we're on the backside of that, so it's going to pull in the cooler and drier air on the backside of that system. Temperatures today will be really where they are right now, near 50 degrees for the high temperature. We'll see some breakout sunshine at times throughout the afternoon. Otherwise, looking dry through this evening. Even the weekend's trending dry, too. We're going to be pretty dry in that seven-day forecast. Fifty degrees for the high temperature today. Tomorrow, we're in the low 50s following a chilly start. And then it looks like we're going to warm up eventually towards the middle of next week again, which is more or less going to be average temperatures for this point of November. Seven-day forecast. Again, chilly mornings, cool afternoons throughout the weekend. We'll slowly make it back to near 60 degrees by Wednesday and Thursday. Back to you. All right, Taylor. Thanks. Well, it is Forever Home Friday, sponsored by Price Benowitz. And this morning, we are joined by This Is Dallas. He is making himself very known to you at home, as well as Sandra from the Humane Society of Prince George's County. We are trying to find a forever home for our friend here, Dallas. Glad to have you guys here with us. And he is very active, very vocal. Tell us a little bit about him. Yeah, so he is very active. He's one years old, but he lives with another dog, a boxer, and he also lives with two toddlers. And he's very Very gentle, very polite. light and he takes treats from them very nicely. He rides well in a car. He's active. So he took well with somebody who's an active person. Yeah, he is so sweet. Oh, yes, exactly. And since he's only one, he's probably going to get a little bigger. He's a black mouth cur, which sounds unusual, but they think he might be mixed with some boxer. Yes. And when he came to us, he was kind of thin. Not as healthy as he is now, but now he loves to eat. I was going to say, tell us a little bit about his backstory, how he ended up in your care. We don't actually know, but he was in the shelter, and he wasn't the best of health, but he's back to health now. And he's had all his vaccines, and he's just looking for a forever home. I love that. So he's about a year old. You said he's great with kids, great with other dogs, and very active. So, you know, a good family would be a great opportunity for him. Yeah, exactly. And he does well in the car, so even he's supposed to be home for the holidays. Maybe go on some trips to see Grandma. Yeah, exactly. And you know what's funny? I think he thinks he's smaller than he is. He's very, just so charismatic as well. So hopefully we will be able to find a forever home for him. Where can people reach out to you all to find more about our friend Dallas here? Well, I think the link is going across the page, and they just apply when they get to our page. They just apply under this little picture and then put in an application, and then we go through it trying to find the best home for them. Okay, fantastic. What does it look like for you all right now at the Humane Society of Prince George's County? I know you guys probably have a lot of animals, people probably looking for forever homes for their... Yeah, and not just dogs, but cats. We also need fosters, like somebody's fostering this doggie, and that gives them the opportunity to get to know him. That's why I was able to tell you she has two little... I think he's speaking to you folks at home. He's saying, please adopt me. Yeah, you tell him. I love it. Very cute. Come here, Dallas. We'd love to see you. Yeah, so if you want to foster, and that's a good way of knowing whether, you know, a certain type of dog is a good fit. Okay. And it's also a way of getting to know the dog so that you can tell people the truth. Because sometimes when they're in the shelter, they may act shyer or more energetic than they really are. But if you socialize them and get to know them, You can tell people how this dog is and he's a sweetheart. Absolutely. It gives them a better chance at going into a home where they feel more comfortable. He cracks me up. He says, awesome. Well, thank you so much. Thank you so much for bringing Dallas in here for us this morning, and hopefully somebody at home will be able to bring him home to their warm, comfy couch, because he looks like he wants to cuddle, don't you, but right now he wants to play. Yeah, or go on a walk. He's very playful. Exactly. All right. Thank you so much, Sandra. We appreciate it. Thanks for having us on. All right. If you're interested in reaching out to find out more about Dallas, you can head over to the Prince George's County Humane Society. Yeah. We'll be right back.