The Thursday morning gunfire prompted a major police response, school lockdowns and a barricade operation about a mile from the White House.
WASHINGTON — Five people were shot Thursday morning in Washington’s Logan Circle neighborhood, including a man who died at a nearby gym, as police converged on the area and responded to a barricaded suspect, authorities and witnesses said.
The shooting unfolded shortly before 8 a.m. near 15th and P streets NW, triggering a large response from Metropolitan Police Department officers and federal law enforcement. Early reports said four people had been shot, but police later confirmed that the number had risen to five. Authorities blocked streets around the scene and urged residents and workers to avoid the area while tactical teams focused on a nearby apartment building.
At least one victim was found inside VIDA Fitness, a gym in the neighborhood. James Spellman, who was at the gym shortly after 8 a.m., told The Associated Press that he heard gunfire while about 50 people were inside. He said a man collapsed after being shot and another gym member rushed to help him. Later reporting identified that victim as the person who died. Officials had not immediately released the names of the victims.
The victims were not all shot inside the gym, police said. A law enforcement official told the AP that the suspected gunman was believed to have shot a person at the fitness center before firing outside and shooting another person in a parking garage elevator. The official was not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. Police had not publicly established a motive or explained whether the victims were deliberately targeted.
The suspected shooter was believed to have barricaded himself inside a nearby apartment building, according to law enforcement officials cited by multiple news organizations. Officers and SWAT personnel surrounded the building, with tactical teams seen focusing on an upper floor. Police described the situation as active and urged people nearby to remain indoors and stay away from windows while officers worked to contain the threat.
The shooting prompted lockdowns at nearby schools and disrupted the normally busy Logan Circle area, a neighborhood of apartment buildings, restaurants, shops and fitness businesses about a mile north of the White House. Police cordoned off the 1500 block of 15th Street NW, while residents reported seeing large numbers of police vehicles, ambulances and heavily armed officers throughout the area.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI assisted local police during the response. Authorities had not immediately released detailed information about the conditions of the four surviving victims. The circumstances connecting the separate shooting locations also remained under investigation Thursday morning.
Initial coverage of the incident reflected the fast-changing nature of the emergency. The Arizona’s Family report said four people had been shot, matching information available earlier in the response. Subsequent reporting from the Associated Press and other news organizations, citing police, put the total at five. At least one death was reported after witnesses and authorities provided additional information from the scene.
Police had not announced an arrest or publicly identified the suspected shooter as the operation continued. Authorities also had not released a confirmed motive, the identities of the victims or a complete sequence of events. Investigators remained at the scene Thursday as officers worked to resolve the barricade and determine what led to the shootings.
Author note: Last updated November 12, 2026.