Five people were shot early on Thursday morning in Washington’s Logan Circle neighbourhood, about a mile north of the White House, police said. One of the victims died and four were taken to hospital, NBC News reported, citing law enforcement sources. The gunman had not been taken into custody by Thursday morning and was barricaded in an apartment building near the scene.

Shooting at and around a gym

The shooting happened at and outside a VIDA Fitness gym near the junction of 15th and P Streets Northwest, according to District Councilmember Brooke Pinto. The Metropolitan Police Department issued its first alert at 8:23am, describing an active shooting, and its Emergency Response Team was sent to the scene. Police told residents to avoid the area and put a shelter-in-place order in force for the 1500 block of 15th Street.

A witness, James Spellman, was at the gym shortly after 8am when he heard gunshots. He told the Associated Press there were about 50 people in the facility at the time and that he heard about two shots inside the gym and five or six outside. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent agents to help, and the FBI said its Washington field office was assisting local police with the investigation.

Police had not released details of a possible motive by Thursday morning, and the exact sequence of events remained unclear. Officers were responding to more than one location in the neighbourhood, and the investigation was continuing.

Sources: Associated Press, New York Post