Reporter’s notebook: shooting brings home grim reality in the US capital

We were weeks into a three-month assignment reporting from the SCMP bureau in Washington when we heard a shooting just around the corner from our apartment building.

From our flat, we often hear trucks going past and loud noise from the ventilation system several storeys below.

But as we got ready for work at 8am on Thursday we heard something unusual – “bang, bang, bang”. It was gunfire, and it sounded like it was right outside our apartment.

Soon after, we heard fire alarms, police sirens and helicopters hovering overhead. Looking out our window, we could see police officers rushing through the rainy city streets.

Colleagues told us in a group chat that there were reports of gunshots nearby.

At around 9am, a piercing emergency alert landed on our phones from Washington’s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) with an order to shelter in place. It covered the immediate vicinity of the 1500 block of 15th Street NW, where the shooting took place.

The alert advised people to “go inside the nearest building, stay away from windows, and remain indoors until further notice”.

America’s capital has one of the strictest gun-control regimes in the country. No one can openly carry a firearm in public except for law enforcement officers and those with a concealed-carry pistol licence issued by the MPD.

We turned on the television and switched to a local channel for live coverage. It turned out to be a shooting at VIDA Fitness, the gym around the corner that we had been going to almost every day after work. Familiar faces of people from nearby shops appeared on screen as they were interviewed.

The reports told us that a “white male” gunman had opened fire inside the gym, shooting one person, then walked out onto the street and continued shooting from the patio of his apartment on the seventh floor of the same building. Soon we learned that one person had been killed and four others were taken to hospital, according to police.

Still under an order to stay put, we saw reports saying the shooter had barricaded himself in the building above the gym. Evacuees had meanwhile taken refuge in a local bagel shop where we often grab a bite to eat.

Television coverage showed police cars on the street we walk down every day on our way to work.

We were well aware of the decades-long struggle with gun violence in the United States, but as reporters from China and South Korea – two countries with some of the world’s strictest gun laws – the idea of a shooting disrupting our daily routine was previously unthinkable.

The right to keep and bear arms is protected by the constitution, and according to the Pew Research Centre about a third of Americans say they own firearms.

In Washington, permit holders must register firearms locally and permits issued elsewhere in the US are not valid. Carrying a firearm without authorisation is a felony.

Even with a concealed-carry licence, firearms are prohibited in many places including the White House – less than 1.5km (1 mile) away from the site of Thursday’s shooting. Guns are also banned in the Capitol Hill area, at National Mall monuments, in federal buildings, schools, hospitals or on public transport. Similar rules apply to venues that serve alcohol, many museums and at other venues with “no firearms” signs.

An email from the gym soon arrived, addressed to all members from Aaron Moore, the president of VIDA Fitness.

“We ask that you avoid travelling to the Logan Circle location and surrounding area until further notice,” it read. “If you are currently in the vicinity, please follow all instructions from local law enforcement.”

Around 11am, reports came in that the suspect had been confirmed dead and the lockdown order was lifted. The gunman reportedly shot himself after a stand-off with police. At 11.35am, another phone alert announced that the shelter-in-place order had been lifted.

As if on cue, the skies cleared.

Media reports said the suspect had a dispute with the homeowners’ association of the building where the shooting took place. It was later reported that the man killed in the gym was the building manager and they had been in a maintenance dispute over mould damage in the suspect’s apartment.

We have only been in Washington for a short period but it was the second time we have encountered a shooting.

On October 16, shots were fired around 4.34pm at the Dupont Circle Metro Station entrance, which faces our office building. That incident sent people in the area scattering, but no injuries were reported.

Our apartment is in Logan Circle, one of downtown’s busier neighbourhoods. From our windows, we can see an alley and a small warehouse where we have seen for ourselves the “fentanyl fold” – a man bent forward at the waist with his head bowed and syringes on the ground at his feet.

Before coming here, we had the impression that Washington was one of the safer places in the US – it is often in the upper-middle range of the country’s “happiest cities” rankings. In interviews, TV reporters stressed that Thursday’s shooting was “not normal” for the capital.

According to MPD crime statistics, Washington’s overall crime rate remains above the national average, though it has fallen sharply since a 2023 peak. As of November 12, total crime had fallen by another 11 percentage points on top of a substantial decline in 2025.

As new arrivals, hearing the sound of deadly gunfire from just metres away on Thursday morning has brought home the grim reality of the gun control issue in America – and its profound impact on life here.