入驻《南华早报》驻华盛顿分社执行为期三个月的报道任务仅数周，我们便在公寓楼拐角处听到了枪声。
re 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.
平日里，公寓内常能听到楼下几层楼通风系统的轰鸣声，以及卡车驶过的声响。
From our flat, we often hear trucks going past and loud noise from the ventilation system several storeys below.
但周四上午8点，当我们准备上班时，听到了不同寻常的声音——“砰、砰、砰”。那是枪声，听起来就在我家公寓门外。
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.
不久后，消防警报、警笛声和盘旋头顶的直升机声接连响起。透过窗户，我们看到警察在雨中的城市街道上疾驰而过。同事在群聊中告知，附近有枪击报告。
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.
上午9点左右，华盛顿特区大都会警察局（MPD）向我们的手机推送了一条刺耳的紧急警报，下令就地避难。警报覆盖枪击发生地——西北15街1500街区的周边区域。
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.
警报建议人们“进入最近的建筑物内部，远离窗户，留在室内，等待进一步通知”。
The alert advised people to “go inside the nearest building, stay away from windows, and remain indoors until further notice”.
美国首都拥有全美最严格的枪支管控制度之一。除执法人员和持有大都会警察局颁发的隐蔽携带手枪许可证者外，任何人不得在公共场合公开携带枪支。
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.
我们打开电视，切换到本地频道观看直播报道。事发地点竟是拐角处的VIDA Fitness健身房，我们下班后几乎天天去那里锻炼。屏幕上出现了附近店铺熟悉的面孔，他们正在接受采访。
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.
报道称，一名“白人男性”枪手在健身房内开枪，击中一人，随后走到街上，又从同栋楼七层其公寓的露台继续射击。随后我们得知，据警方透露，已造成1人死亡、4人被送医。
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.
我们仍处于原地不动的命令之下，看到报道称枪手已将自己封锁在健身房上方的大楼内。与此同时，疏散人员在一家当地的贝果店避难，那里是我们常去吃点东西的地方。电视报道显示，警车停在我们每天上班必经的那条街道上。
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.
我们深知美国几十年来与枪支暴力斗争的历史，但作为来自中国和韩国的记者——这两个国家拥有世界上最严格的枪支法律之一——枪击事件扰乱我们的日常生活，此前简直是不可想象的。
re 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.
持有和携带武器的权利受宪法保护，根据皮尤研究中心的数据，约三分之一的美国人表示他们拥有枪支。
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.
在华盛顿，持证人必须在当地登记枪支，美国其他地方颁发的许可证在此无效。未经授权携带枪支属于重罪。
In Washington, permit holders must firearms locally and permits issued elsewhere in the US are not valid. Carrying a firearm without authorisation is a felony.
即使持有隐蔽携带许可证，在许多场所携带枪支也是被禁止的，包括白宫——距离周四枪击案现场不到1.5公里（1英里）。国会山区域、国家广场纪念碑、联邦大楼、学校、医院或公共交通工具上也禁枪。类似规定适用于供酒场所、许多博物馆以及其他张贴“禁枪”标志的场所。
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.
健身房很快发来一封邮件，由VIDA Fitness总裁Aaron Moore致全体会员。
An email from the gym soon arrived, addressed to all members from Aaron Moore, the president of VIDA Fitness.
邮件写道：“我们要求你们避免前往Logan Circle分店及周边区域，直至另行通知。如果你们目前身处附近，请遵循当地执法部门的所有指示。”上午11点左右，传出消息称嫌疑人已确认死亡，封锁令解除。据报道，枪手在与警察对峙后开枪自杀。上午11点35分，另一条手机警报宣布就地避难令解除。仿佛应和一般，天空放晴了。
“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.
媒体报道称，嫌疑人与枪击案发生地所在大楼的业主协会存在纠纷。随后有报道称，健身房内遇害的男子是大楼经理，双方曾因嫌疑人公寓内的霉菌损坏问题陷入维修纠纷。我们在华盛顿停留的时间不长，但这是我们第二次遭遇枪击事件。
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.
10月16日下午4点34分左右，杜邦圈地铁站入口发生枪击，该入口正对着我们的办公大楼。那次事件导致周围人群四散奔逃，但据报没有人员受伤。
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.
我们的公寓位于洛根圈，这是市中心较为繁忙的社区之一。从窗户望去，能看到一条小巷和一个小仓库，我们亲眼目睹了“芬太尼弯腰”现象——一名男子腰部前屈、低垂着头，脚边地上放着注射器。
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.
来到这里之前，我们印象中华盛顿是美国较为安全的城市之一——它常年位列全美“最幸福城市”排名的中上游。在采访中，电视记者强调周四发生的这起枪击案“并不正常”，不符合首都的常态。
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.
根据华盛顿特区警方（MPD）的犯罪统计数据，华盛顿的总体犯罪率仍高于全国平均水平，但自2023年峰值以来已大幅下降。截至11月12日，总犯罪率在2025年大幅下降的基础上，又进一步下降了11个百分点。
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.
作为新来者，周四清晨在距离仅几米处听到致命枪声，让我们深刻体会到美国枪支管控问题的严峻现实——以及它对这里生活产生的深远影响。
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.