Nearly a year before the November 12 shooting in Washington, D.C.’s Logan Circle neighborhood, deceased gunman Matt Lambert referenced Luigi Mangione — the left-wing terrorist accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson — while discussing his condominium dispute with a reporter.
In interviews conducted in late November and December 2025 with then-Washington Post reporter Michael Brice-Saddler, Lambert described ongoing issues with water leaks and mold in his unit and characterized the building’s legal responses as “psychological warfare.” During a December visit that included a neighbor, he made an offhand remark while criticizing the Metropole Condominium.
“What are they called? Delay, deny, defend … the Luigi three?” Lambert told Brice-Saddler, who now works with the Washington Sun.
The phrase echoed language associated with Mangione, who in December 2024 shot and killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan. Authorities recovered ammunition casings inscribed with words including “deny,” “defend,” and “depose,” all of which are variants of the common description of insurance claim-handling tactics.
Lambert’s comment framed the association’s handling of his repair requests in similar terms. Brice-Saddler later noted that Lambert gave no indication of planned violence during the interviews.
POLL: Will America Regret Giving The Democrats Power?
DC gym shooter referenced Luigi Mangione in interview with journalist 1 year before mass shootinghttps://t.co/LvWTI7O9zY
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) November 14, 2026
Lambert referenced Mangione again publicly. On October 1, 2026, an X account linked to him (@miceandmold) posted, “After months of ‘Luigi’ tactics (delay, deny, defend) by the HOA, we were finally able to submit an independent engineering report into the record. 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.”
The shooting occurred shortly before 8 a.m. on November 12, at the VIDA Fitness gym on the ground floor of the Metropole condominium building near 15th and P Streets NW. Lambert, 55, fatally shot James Stuart, 46, the building manager, with a handgun inside the gym.
He then fired additional shots, including from his seventh-floor unit, wounding several others.
He then barricaded himself inside his apartment and railed about his dispute with the building owners for about an hour before ultimately taking his own life.
Lambert was a former emergency room physician and healthcare technology executive who had worked in the field for about two decades. He purchased the roughly $1.1 million top-floor unit in 2016 and later authored books on healthcare topics, including Unrest Insured. Lambert reported that facade rehabilitation work between 2023 and 2024 led to water intrusion and mold.
He further claimed that he spent substantial personal funds — figures cited in reporting included nearly $200,000 by late 2025 — on legal and engineering costs, stripped the unit to expose damage, and lived with limited furnishings while pursuing remedies
In March 2025 he filed a lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court alleging negligence, breach of fiduciary duty, and nuisance, though the association denied the claims.
Lambert told Brice-Saddler the situation affected his sleep, diet, and finances, describing himself as “radioactive” within the building and increasing his public messaging via social media and flyers. He also reportedly noted Stuart’s typical arrival time at the gym in conversation with another resident.
