Police in Washington DC are hunting a gunman after at least four people were shot at a gym about a mile north of the White House on Thursday morning.
The Metropolitan Police Department declared an active shooting around 15th and P Street NW, in the Logan Circle neighbourhood, at about 8am local time (1pm UK) and told residents to stay away. Police told the Associated Press that at least five people had been shot. No deaths have been confirmed and police have not said how badly the victims are hurt.
The force has not released a description of the suspect or any motive, and the incident is continuing. The scale of the response, with federal agents deployed and nearby schools placed on lockdown, marks it out as an unusual event for a residential district close to the seat of government, though nothing reported so far suggests any link to the White House.
The MPD posted on X: "CRITICAL ALERT: MPD is on the scene of an ACTIVE SHOOTING in the area of 15th and P Street, Northwest. MPD’s Emergency Response Team is on scene. AVOID THE AREA."
Brooke Pinto, a DC councilmember, placed the shooting at a branch of VIDA Fitness. She wrote on X: "Shootings at and outside Vida fitness this morning in Logan Circle. Multiple people shot. Do not go to this area. Police looking for suspect."
A DC police spokesperson told the Washington Sun there was an active shooter at the VIDA Fitness gym and described the situation as "fluid". CNN, citing two sources familiar with the matter, also reported that the shooting happened at the gym. Police have not publicly confirmed the exact location, and Officer Nathan Clarke of the MPD told the Associated Press that no further details were immediately available, including where the gunfire happened and how seriously the victims were injured.
The suspect's whereabouts remain unclear. Police said in the first hours that the shooter was not in custody, and a police spokesperson told the Associated Press the suspect had not been caught and the locations of the shootings were uncertain. NBC News later reported, citing two senior law enforcement officials, that the shooter was believed to be barricaded inside the gym, with at least three people injured and no motive known. Police have not confirmed that account.
The Associated Press reported that police were responding to more than one location. Officers cordoned off much of the 1500 block of 15th Street, which includes the gym, St Luke's Episcopal Church and homes, and is round the corner from a Whole Foods supermarket. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it had sent agents to assist.
The Associated Press reported that schools near the scene had been placed on lockdown and that further streets around the area were closed.
Michael Blair, Sky News' US editor, described the police presence from the scene: "It's not uncommon to hear sirens in Washington DC, but certainly this was a very unusual proportion of fire engines and police cars that were motoring down the street."
He added: "I would say in this part of Washington, this is a highly unusual and alarming event."
Two people who said they were inside the gym told the Washington Sun they heard a loud bang that they did not immediately recognise as a gunshot. Suzanne Garwood told the paper she heard "an enormous, loud thing" from the ladies' locker room. Their accounts have not been confirmed by police.
Neither the White House nor the Mayor of DC had commented publicly at the time of writing. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has not said whether any British nationals are affected.
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