Remember the pepper-spraying woman at Capital Mall? She’s been arrested twice, police say
A 56-year-old woman accused of pepper-spraying a group of international students at Capital Mall has been arrested twice since that incident, according to Olympia police.
About 7:45 p.m. Sept. 21, four Japanese exchange students, ages 16-20, were pepper-sprayed by a woman who got off an Intercity Transit bus ahead of them near JC Penney at the west side mall.
“Once they were all off the bus, the woman turned around and pepper sprayed the four students,” Police Lt. Paul Lower told The Olympian.
Lower said so much pepper spray was used that officers could smell it in the air before they arrived.
The students asked for help at the mall. They described the suspect as an “elderly white female.”
Following that incident, a woman was involved in a similar incident downtown, Lower said Tuesday.
About 11 a.m. Sept. 26, police were dispatched to Olympia Avenue Northeast at Washington Street where two women had been arguing.
During the argument, one of the women pepper-sprayed the other. The victim pointed out the suspect to police and she was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault and later released, Lower said.
Meanwhile, on Sept. 28, police received Intercity Transit video that connected the woman to the Capital Mall incident. That information was shared with police officers who located the woman about 2 a.m. Monday, Oct. 28, in the 200 block of Franklin Street Northeast.
Police found two sticks of pepper spray on her, Lower said.
Again the woman was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault, Lower said. However, a check of the Thurston County Jail roster on Tuesday showed the woman was no longer in jail.
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 10:34 AM.
