By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – According to local police on Thursday at least 5 people were shot in Washington, DC’s Logan Circle neighborhood, including 1 person was killed inside a gym.

The incident triggered a major police response, with the suspect barricaded near the location of the first shooting and the capitol is on alert.

Police launched a major operation as the suspect barricaded himself nearby, prompting school lockdowns and road closures.

According to media report, police officers responded to reports of shootings at multiple locations in the neighbourhood.

The Metropolitan Police Department said the suspect had barricaded himself near the site of the initial shooting. SWAT teams were also seen responding to an upper floor of a nearby apartment building.

Police urged people to avoid the 1500 block of 15th Street, where a VIDA Fitness centre, St Luke’s Episcopal Church and several residential buildings are located.

The area is also near a Whole Foods supermarket, was largely cordoned off and schools were placed under lockdown as a precaution.

The streets around the neighbourhood were also blocked as a large police contingent reached the scene.

The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives deployed agents to assist, while the FBI’s Washington field office supported local authorities in the investigation.

James Spellman, who was at the gym said around 50 people were inside when he heard gunfire.

“Within seconds, there was a man who fell to the ground, and a pool of blood came out,” he said.

“One gym member rushed to help him. He was instantly dead. He had been shot in the neck.”

Spellman said he and other gym members ran out of the building. He added that he heard more gunfire on 15th Street, estimating that around two shots were fired inside the gym and another five or six outside.

Ryan Dubicki, said he was in his nearby apartment at around 8 am when he heard what sounded like five loud bangs.

“They were really spread out so I thought it was construction,” he said, adding that he noticed police officers in the area shortly afterwards.

The building managers later sent residents a notice warned them about a possible active shooter.

Logan Circle has also witnessed violence in the past. In early August 2025, a former member of US President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency was assaulted by a group of teenagers who allegedly tried to carjack him and a woman early on a Sunday morning.

Trump followed through on his threat to override local authority and take direct federal control of Washington. He deployed hundreds of National Guard personnel as part of a crackdown on crime.

The deployment of National Guard personnel in the US capital remains in place.