The neighbors embraced each other and ate pizza. They shared stories about the lethal shooting that had unfolded earlier that day.
All around them were rolling luggage and duffel bags, filled with what belongings they could grab before the police barred them from their own homes.
Many residents of the Metropole condominium building in D.C.’s Logan Circle neighborhood had been familiar with an upstairs neighbor’s bitter feelings toward their property management company and how it handled complaints of mold and mice that he said had rendered his unit unlivable.
Apparently fed up with the conditions, according to police, Matt Lambert killed James Stuart, a 46-year-old Metropole property manager, in the nearby Vida Fitness gym Thursday, then shot five others and set fire to his condo before taking his own life.
The shooting has left Metropole residents reeling. Within a span of hours, they rushed to obtain new accommodations, find ways to grieve and grapple with how the exasperation of a neighbor — someone who pet their dogs and rode in the elevator with them — had turned deadly.
Less than 12 hours after the early-morning shooting, authorities organized an impromptu session for Metropole residents at a nearby recreation center. The meeting turned contentious at times as residents, who had been ordered to evacuate at the height of the chaos, voiced frustration and a lack of faith in EJF Real Estate Services, the building’s property management company.
“Please don’t ignore this situation like you ignored Matt’s situation,” resident Alireza Tajzad told Aaron Mindel, a representative from EJF, during a question-and-answer portion of the meeting.
In an interview, Tajzad said that he had been friends with Lambert and that the building’s management had dragged its feet rather than dealing with complaints Lambert and other residents had made about needed maintenance to their units.
Tajzad said he faced similar problems with building management. “My condo got flooded as well. Ignored, ignored, ignored,” he said.
Mindel told residents that EJF hired a private security company to guard the building, and detailed plans to address water damage caused after the fire set by the shooter triggered the building’s sprinkler system.
Every common area hallway had water in it, Mindel told the group. And because police had forced entry into the building’s condos during efforts to secure the facility, doors would have to be padlocked until they could be replaced, he said.
On Friday, Scott Burka, president of EJF, declined to comment on the circumstances surrounding the shooting and said the company’s “focus right now is on Jimmy’s family, the others who were injured, and the residents of the Metropole.”
“We work hard to respond to every resident concern and to find solutions that work for the association and its residents,” Burka said in a statement. “Any resident who has an open concern can always contact us directly so we can follow up with them.”
D.C. government inspectors said Thursday that the Metropole was uninhabitable due to the fire-related damage, and residents were asked to temporarily stay away while the gas and water remains off, according to the city’s Department of Buildings. A department spokesman said the building can reopen once gas is restored and the fire alarm and sprinkler system is reinspected, but that timing was unclear.
On Friday outside the Metropole and Vida Fitness, community members laid flowers on the sidewalk and solemnly read notes of sorrow that other people had taped to the window. Around the corner, the bagel shop Call Your Mother, where some people sheltered during the shooting, was still closed.
Two shooting victims remained hospitalized, one of whom was in critical but stable condition, interim D.C. police chief Jeffery Carroll said Friday morning. Police are still investigating how Lambert obtained his weapons, he said.
“We do believe he plotted this,” Carroll said. “He had been in the gym for almost an hour before the victim walked in, so we do believe he was waiting for him, and after that he had a plan of what he was going to do.”
Just one day after the shooting, some Metropole residents said they were still contending with what had happened in the place they called home.
Cole Brennan, 30, said he hasn’t experienced major issues with the property management company since he moved into the Metropole four months ago.
When Brennan returned home to get his dog, Bingo, on Thursday, he recorded a video of a flooded hallway, destroyed doors and the sound of alarms piercing the air. He was unable to assess the extent of the damage to his home.
Management has told residents they wouldn’t be able to return to their units until as early as Monday, Brennan said. But on Friday, Brennan said a city government social worker told him it could be 10 to 14 days before residents can return.
Charles Webb, 58, and his husband were among residents who relocated to a hotel.
“It’s upsetting, but it could have been worse,” Webb said Thursday. “While disheartening, we were also reminded of the loss we experienced today with the murder of our property manager, and the need to take care of each other.”
Charelle Ferguson, a building manager for the Metropole, told The Washington Post that Lambert confessed to her during a phone call after the shooting. Ferguson was also present at Thursday evening’s meeting, Webb said, and “received a warm thank you from all of the residents.”
For Peter Morris, a 61-year-old Metropole resident, returning to his condo to pick up some belongings felt “jarring.” The vestiges of law enforcement’s building-wide sweep were still present, he said.
“It was surreal walking down the hallway, in two inches of water, with holes punched in every single door, and the word ‘clear’ written on every unit,” Morris said.
Earlier Thursday, as Morris went through the building to evacuate, he saw a woman who had been seriously injured. She was bleeding profusely and unable to speak, so Morris, who said he volunteers as a firefighter rescuer in Maryland, began treating her until an ambulance arrived. He rode with her to George Washington University Hospital.
Morris didn’t want to say he saved the woman’s life.
“I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to positively impact the situation,” he said. “She did a good job saving her own life and surviving.”
After the shooting, Morris also checked into a hotel. As a journalist, Morris said he’s used to living out of a suitcase, but this time felt different.
“Getting a hotel room three blocks from where I live,” he said, “was a little weird.”
Meagan Flynn contributed to this report.
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