Man who fired shotgun from apartment above Olympia tavern arrested
An entire block in downtown Olympia was evacuated Wednesday night after a man fired a shotgun at a group of people from a second-floor apartment window above the 4th Ave Tavern.
A group of about 10 people was standing on the sidewalk outside the tavern on the 200 block of Fourth Avenue at about 9:30 p.m. when an officer came running around the corner after hearing gunshots, according to Olympia Police spokesperson Paul Lower.
People in the group were screaming “he has a gun” and “he shot at me,” according to the officer. Then the officer saw the barrel of a shotgun pointed out a second-floor window and a man emerge behind it.
No one was injured and the group of people was cleared from the scene, Lower said.
Then followed a 45-minute standoff between the gunman and police. Ten more OPD officers and a Thurston County SWAT team arrived, and businesses and apartment residents from the entire block were evacuated.
Around 10:15 p.m., the gunman emerged from the building and surrendered to police, Lower said.
The man, who was identified as a 58-year-old Olympia resident, was booked into the Thurston County Jail early Thursday morning on the charge of second-degree assault. It was not clear if he lived in the apartment or what precipitated the argument.
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 11:18 AM.
.jpg)