‘It was really scary, really sad,’ says Our Table co-owner about shots in downtown Olympia

The co-owner of Our Table said Sunday that having shots fired at his restaurant Friday night was “really scary and really sad” for him, his employees and two customers.

All found themselves diving to get out of the way after two windows were shot out, said Mike Holbein.

One window shattered, and another larger pane came crashing down, he said. Holbein said one of his customers hit the floor so fast he thought that person had been hit.

An Olympia police spokesman said the window damage was caused by a pellet gun or small-caliber firearm.

Just before 9 p.m. Friday, Holbein said a person in a white truck drove down Fourth Avenue and not only shot out two windows at Our Table, but also shot out a window at Dumpster Values. Dumpster Values is at Fourth Avenue and Franklin Street; Our Table is one block away at 406 Fourth Ave. E.

Raven Fire, an employee at Dumpster Values, said Sunday that the glass on their front door was shot out. After the owner of the business was contacted about the shooting, the broken area was boarded up.

Dumpster Values, a clothing store, was closed Friday night.

Fire recalled what a witness had told her — that they had seen a white and blue truck drive down Fourth Avenue, and that the person in the vehicle was holding a BB gun.

Information shared with The Olympian on Sunday afternoon differed slightly from what the police said that morning.

Olympia police Lt. Paul Lower said Sunday morning that police had seized a vehicle in connection with the shots fired Friday, although it was described as a “small passenger vehicle” — not a truck.

The police asked for the public’s help in identifying the suspect. Anyone with information is asked to call Olympia police at 360-753-8300.

After the windows were damaged at Our Table, Holbein said people in the immediate area volunteered to clean up glass and board up the windows.

“It was a great display of community,” he said.

This story was originally published January 22, 2017 at 11:26 AM with the headline "‘It was really scary, really sad,’ says Our Table co-owner about shots in downtown Olympia."