The doctor accused of killing his building manager at a luxury Washington, DC, condominium had kept an online diary detailing his escalating disputes over conditions in the building.
Dr. Matt Lambert, 55, began posting about problems at the Metropole in the district’s Logan Circle neighborhood in October 2025, while pursuing a lawsuit against the property management company.
His X account, called “Of Mice and Mold,” said it offered “info on the Metropole and EJF,” referring to the Metropole Condominium Association and its contractor, EJF Real Estate Services.
Early posts focused on Lambert’s efforts to persuade contractors to address mold and water damage in his penthouse. He also shared an invitation for neighbors to visit his condominium during the holidays.
As spring approached, however, the tone of his updates darkened. Lambert began documenting the work he said he was forced to carry out inside the unit.
In a disturbing post on April 28, Lambert responded to another resident who complained that the building’s hot water was not working.
“If you’re looking for the building manager, I would check the gym,” he wrote.
It was at that gym that Lambert fatally shot James Stuart, 46, in the back at about 8am on Thursday. Four other people were also injured during the subsequent rampage.
Dr. Matt Lambert, 55, shot his building manager at a luxury Washington, DC, condominium on Thursday amid an ongoing dispute over mold in his unit
James Stuart, 46, was shot in the back inside Vida Fitness in Logan Circle at about 8am. Images via: James Stuart/Facebook
Lambert’s X account, “Of Mice and Mold,” said it provided information about the Metropole Condominium Association and EJF Real Estate Services
One day before the shooting, Lambert claimed on social media that the dispute had left him without a shower, dryer, HVAC system or cooking facilities for six months.
His final post, published at 8.06am while he was believed to be inside his apartment, read: “My manifesto is an engineering report.”
Lambert continued to criticize the building’s management after the shooting. Manager Charelle Ferguson contacted him to ask whether he was safe, not yet realizing that he was the gunman.
Lambert told her he was exhausted by the mold and water damage in his apartment, which he described as uninhabitable.
“The only way people will pay attention, you have to do something,” Ferguson recalled him saying.
He then admitted that he had shot five people, including Stuart, one of Ferguson’s co-workers, she said.
“I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” Ferguson said. “I tried to calm myself down and get as much information from him as I could and keep him on the phone.”
The condominium complex where Lambert opened fire is shown
The interior of Lambert’s apartment is shown in November 2024, after he moved out and the walls and floors were removed to investigate water damage and mold. Source: OfMiceandMold/X
Lambert posted this photograph of the walls being removed from his apartment in November 2024, one day before the shooting. Source: OfMiceandMold/X
Lambert had barricaded himself inside his penthouse apartment at 1515 15th Street, directly above the gym.
From inside, he activated the sprinkler system, started a fire and spoke by phone with a neighbor, another property manager and police negotiators about his conflict with the building.
He also shot at four people on the ground from his balcony, injuring them, before ultimately turning the weapon on himself.
At least one of the injured people was in critical condition, while the other three suffered injuries that were not considered life-threatening, police said.
Officers eventually forced their way into the building. Lambert reportedly fired at police twice through the apartment door.
Negotiators spent about an hour speaking with him through the door before hearing a gunshot.
When authorities entered, they found Lambert suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Inside the apartment, they also found three firearms—a pistol, a shotgun and a rifle—none of which was registered to Lambert.
Local and federal law enforcement officers respond to the scene on Thursday
Police gather outside the Vida Fitness gym, where Stuart was killed
At a subsequent news conference, officials acknowledged that Lambert had been involved in a dispute with the homeowners association before the shooting.
“We do know there was a conflict between him and the homeowners association of that building, but at this point we’re continuing to look into that,” Metropolitan Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said.
Thursday’s shooting spree came more than two years and one day after Lambert had left his apartment so contractors could remove its walls and floors.
What drove Lambert to open fire while the lawsuit was still pending remains unclear, including to his attorney, Joel Braithwaite.
Braithwaite said Lambert “was in a good place” when they spoke a day or so before the shooting. The lawyer also said the case had reached a successful deposition the previous week.
In a lawsuit filed in March 2025, Lambert alleged that “suspected water intrusion, mold, significant moisture accumulation, and/or related damage” had resulted directly from facade work that began at the Metropole in March 2023.
He claimed that before the project began, his apartment had experienced “no significant water intrusion, mold, moldy smells, moisture accumulation, or related damage.”
Metropole and EJF Real Estate Services denied responsibility, arguing that third parties beyond their control had caused the damage and that Lambert should have taken greater steps to prevent it.
Bullet holes are visible in the condominium building after the shooting
National Guard members were seen on a balcony of a nearby building across from the location where the shooter barricaded himself
The area around the condominium in Washington, DC’s Logan Circle neighborhood was cordoned off after the rampage
As a condo owner, Lambert paid Metropole $15,357 toward the facade work, according to the lawsuit. He began noticing damage in March 2024.
He reported the first instance of “water intrusion” after Metropole had actively asked residents to report such problems when the construction began.
Metropole did not cut into Lambert’s drywall to check for water behind the wall until August 2024.
By the following month, the electric blind beneath the opening had stopped working, while foul-smelling mold had developed in the area.
The lawsuit alleged that Metropole denied mold was present and attempted to close the opening while disregarding Lambert’s complaints.
Lambert disputed that account, saying two independent assessments “confirmed that substantial moisture continues to accumulate in key areas of the unit, including the cement ceiling, soffit, baseboards, windowsills, and exterior walls.”
He formally asked Metropole to address the damage in accordance with the assessors’ recommendations and reimburse him for the costs he had incurred.
According to the lawsuit, Metropole failed to fulfill those requests despite receiving extensive photographic evidence.
“[Metropole’s] work caused a moisture-saturated ceiling, mold-covered external walls, and moisture-saturated floorboards under the windows, corrosion of metal surfaces under the drywall,” the lawsuit alleged.
Lambert posted this photograph showing water damage elsewhere in the apartment building
Black mold that accumulated inside Lambert’s apartment
On October 21, 2024, Metropole wrote to Lambert promising to work with him to resolve the problems. He claimed, however, that the promised action never followed.
By November 11, Lambert said he had given up and hired a contractor to remove the “moisture-saturated” walls and rotten flooring.
He claimed the work exposed additional black mold and leaking pipes that were worsening the damage.
The lawsuit alleged that Metropole repeatedly promised to resolve the problems but had not done so by the time the case was filed.
“[Lambert’s] unit remains deconstructed, torn down to the metal frame which bears signs of the water intrusion and elevated moisture in the unit,” it stated.
Lambert left the apartment once the deconstruction began. He claimed he could not return because rebuilding the unit would lead to further mold growth unless Metropole first addressed the underlying problems.
EJF Real Estate Services President Scott Burka remembered Stuart, pictured, as a “respected and beloved member of our team”
The case continued for the next year and a half. During that period, Lambert began recording what he described as problems throughout the building, as well as the slow progress of the facade project.
His posts showed mold, corroded metal, cockroaches and other vermin, water entering the walls and notices from building management about various utility outages.
He also alleged that he was being “discriminated” against because other units received repairs for similar problems while his apartment did not.
On October 1 this year, Lambert posted an update about the lawsuit.
“After months of ‘Luigi’ tactics (delay, deny, defend) by the HOA, we were finally able to submit an independent engineering report into the record,” he wrote, referencing the Luigi Mangione murder case.
“The report addresses 704, the facade rehabilitation more broadly, and lists other units affected. When the time is right, I will share the report on X, with other Metropole owners, and with Logan Circle realtors.”
As investigators work to establish what led the doctor to open fire, EJF Real Estate Services said it was “devastated” by Stuart’s death and condemned the shooting as a “senseless act of violence.”
“Jimmy was more than a colleague; he was a part of the fabric of this company,” President Scott Burka said, adding that Stuart had joined the company 13 years ago as a property manager.
“He was a respected and beloved member of our team,” Burka said. “Our hearts are with his family and everyone who loved him. We will honor Jimmy by caring for one another, friends and family.”
Burka added that the company was cooperating with authorities investigating the shooting.
