After a gunman in Logan Circle who had long complained about water damage and mold in his condo shot and killed a man and wounded five other people on Thursday, chatter exploded online about whether mold can contribute to mental health problems.
On platforms like Facebook, TikTok and X, posters and commenters debated whether mold can alter a person’s mental state and questioned if that played a role in the shooting, with some posts receiving thousands of likes and shares.
Most doctors agree that mold exposure can create allergy symptoms or, in rare cases, lung infections from toxic strains. But some doctors and researchers say that mold can also create much more wide-reaching harms in the human body.
The idea is controversial. There is limited research to support a connection between gastrointestinal, neurological, and other symptoms and exposure to water-damaged homes.
Even so, people around the country visit functional health practitioners who promise to treat various mold-induced ailments. Those practitioners say that their patients are suffering both physically and mentally from exposure to mold and the stress over managing repairs to their homes.
“Mold rage” is a term some patients have used on social media to discuss increasing irritability and anger due to mold exposure.
The gunman, Matt Lambert, a board certified emergency room doctor, was actively dealing with dampness and mold in his condo, according to court filings, online posts and interviews. No evidence has surfaced indicating that he or anyone close to him has claimed he suffered from mental health issues related to mold. Lambert’s attorney, Joel Braithwaite, said he was “not qualified to speak” on any possible connection. Lambert’s legal complaint did not include any reference to mold-induced health problems.
In 2025, Lambert filed a lawsuit against the condo association and property management company, alleging that they had failed to address the water damage, mold and elevated moisture in his unit despite his complaints over several years.
In court, the condo association and EJF Real Estate Services, the property management company, denied any responsibility for the damage Lambert claimed.
In a phone call with a building manager shortly after fatally shooting another building manager, Lambert said that he was tired of the mold and water damage in his nearly $1.1 million unit. An account on X that appears to be associated with Lambert showed interior walls that looked to be covered in patches of mold.
Andrew Heyman, a professor of clinical research and leadership at George Washington University, said he sees patients with a range of symptoms from mold, including brain fog, stomach issues and chronic pain. The damage in these situations is twofold, he says: Patients experience a wide variety of physical symptoms, but also the emotional damage of feeling unsafe in their home and being rebuffed by most medical practitioners.
“People are spending an ungodly amount of money and no one believes them,” he said. “You have these people who really devolve emotionally, and devolve physically — they are isolated and alone.”
Some of Heyman’s patients also experience mood changes, anxiety and other mental health problems, he said. “Yes, depression. Yes, anxiety. All of that — but a lot of patients report aside from this, irritability and even rage,” he said.
Mikhail Kogan, the chief medical officer at the George Washington Center for Integrative Medicine in Northwest Washington, said he and his staff see a few hundred people a year for mold-related health problems.
“On rare occasions” Kogan said, “we have also encountered patients with severe psychiatric symptoms, including psychotic symptoms, in the setting of suspected mold exposure.”
Mold causes “system inflammation that over time creates brain atrophy,” said Kogan, who is also a professor of medicine at George Washington University.
Still, he said there is a “small portion” of the population that is “genetically predisposed” to troubles with mold.
There is limited peer-reviewed research connecting mold to mental health problems. Some studies have found associations between exposure to mold and depression, stress and anxiety; but these studies are generally small and have relied on self-reported outcomes. One study by researchers at Hunter College in New York found that mice exposed to certain types of mold experienced neurological issues similar to bacteria or viral exposure; another paper that looked at over 5,000 people found that mold was associated with a higher risk of depression.
Manav Singla, a board-certified allergist and immunologist in Baltimore, said there are not clear connections between mold exposure and mental health problems.
“People have subscribed mold to causing a lot of health problems that are just not proven,” he said. “Mental health is delicate, complex.” He warned against an “industry built on mold causing health problems,” noting that there has not been enough well-documented research to prove the link.
Within the medical community there are divided views on whether mold causes health issues outside of mostly asthma and allergies, experts said, although many acknowledged that physical effects of mold could make some existing mental health problems worse.
Many practitioners agree that more research is needed to make a connection. Mary Johnson, a physician-scientist at the Harvard T. Chan School of Public Health, said that while there are a few studies connecting mold and mental health, there are a lot of uncertainties remaining. “That’s one area that is definitely not locked down,” she said.
Juan Benn Jr. contributed to this report.
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