One person has been killed and four others injured in a shooting in central Washington DC, with the suspected gunman later found dead.

The shooting took place inside and near a gym in the Logan Circle area and continued into the surrounding streets and a residential building, the BBC reported.

Police said one of the surviving victims is in a critical condition and the other three have non-life-threatening injuries.

The suspect

The suspect, described by authorities as a white male, barricaded himself inside an apartment that police believe he owned. A DC police spokesperson later confirmed he had died; authorities said he appeared to have suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Police said they believe the shooting may have been triggered by “some sort of a conflict with the apartment building”, but that investigations are continuing. DC police said on social media that “the barricade has concluded. The scene is safe,” while significant traffic closures remained in place.

Response

Officers were at the scene “within 30 seconds”, police said. Fire Chief John Donnelly said emergency responders made contact with the first victim within three minutes of being alerted by dispatchers.

Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser called the incident a “senseless act of gun violence” and thanked emergency responders. Asked whether the speed of the law enforcement response was typical, Bowser said “it’s not typical to have an active shooter that guns down people in this city”.

A BBC producer who lives nearby, Jonathan Csapo, said: “Gunshots went off very, very close to where I was. I could see the smoke, I could see the flash. We just all started running.” One witness initially thought an exercise ball had popped.

A figure that moved during the event

Hiru News reported the incident for Sri Lankan readers as “five injured”, citing the BBC and noting that police had confirmed no deaths at that point and that the suspect was still hidden inside the building. That filing was published at 8:56 pm Colombo time, while the situation was still unfolding.

The BBC’s later account — one dead, four injured, suspect dead — is the resolved position. The two are not in conflict: they are readings taken at different points in the same event. The figures above are the later ones.

Not reported

Neither source names the person killed, gives the suspect’s identity or motive, or states whether the victims were gym members, residents of the building, or passers-by.